What follows is a complete timeline of significant events in the known history of space travel in the Milky Way, and the history of the Virgo Orbital Research Establishment.
It is mostly feature complete, but will be added upon or slightly revised.
The history of the Space Station 13 universe is (obviously) not entirely our own, but rather one that has diverged from ours during the early 20th century. So while it takes place in the future, it is not our future, but a future as imagined by this community.
This lore was developed by Lore Master PontifexMinimus, by Host Aces, and by input from community members like you. Thank you!
If you wish to contribute to this lore, or make any changes, please contact the current @Lore Master(s) on our Discord channel.
1903: Inspired by the writings of Jules Verne, the first serious scientific papers are published that show physical space exploration is theoretically possible.
1905: Albert Einstein publishes his Special Theory of Relativity.
1912: Victor Hess discovers the existence of cosmic radiation.
1918: Chase Monroe is born in Montana.
1920: The Nazi Party is formed.
1926: Robert H. Goddard launches humanity's first liquid-fueled rocket.
1927: Verein für Raumschiffahrt (Society for Space Travel) is formed; it includes many top European rocket scientists.
1929: Hermann Oberth, with students including Wernher von Braun, launches his first liquid-fueled rocket. Among them is Dietrich Troy, who has been studying Special Relativity among other quantum mechanical theories.
1930: Paul Dirac Dirac's textbook Principles of Quantum Mechanics is published.
1931: First German military liquid-fueled rocket engines developed.
1932: Adolf Hitler is appointed as Chancellor of Germany.
1933: Work begins on the Aggregate series of rockets which leads to the V-2 rocket.
1934: Adolf Hitler becomes Führer of Germany.
1935: Dietrich Troy joins the Nazi Party.
1937: Chase Monroe joins the United States Army.
1941: The United States enters World War 2.
1942: The Battle of Stalingrad takes place.
1944: Dietrich Troy becomes a Wonder Weapons researcher working on the V-2 rocket under the supervision of Ludwig Brandt. However, Brandt becomes interested in research notes by Troy regarding the possibility of time travel, and has Troy reassigned.
September: The V-2 Rocket is the first man-made object to cross what would later be defined as the Kármán line, becoming the first spaceflight in human history.
June: Chase Monroe participates in the Battle of Normandy. The allied invasion of Europe begins.
1945: Under Ludwig Brandt's supervision, using Dietrich Troy's designs and calculations, the first Bluespace Gateway in history is built within a secret underground facility beneath the city of Lübeck. It is referred to as the Saphirdimensionale Zeitbrücke (SDZ).
The Battle of Berlin takes place. Adolf Hitler, realizing the war is lost, escapes in secret with the German 21st Army to Lübeck. An unknown individual, possibly one of Hitler's body doubles, is executed and their body burned to fool the Soviets and even Hitler's personal guard into believing that Hitler committed suicide. Hitler instead goes into hiding at the underground base in Lübeck as the SDZ is rushed to completion.
July: The Manhattan Project produces the first nuclear fission explosion during the Trinity test in New Mexico.
August: The nuclear bombs Fat Man and Little Boy are dropped on Japan, formally ending World War 2.
October: The United Nations are established.
1946: Chase Monroe is promoted to Sergeant and reassigned to Operation Paperclip to locate and retrieve Nazi technology before the Soviet Union can do the same.
November: Monroe and his unit are sent to investigate rumors of a hidden Nazi base in Lübeck. A secret passage is discovered beneath Holstein Tor, leading to an underground complex still inhabited by active Nazi troops. A firefight breaks out between American and Nazi-remnant forces. As American forces call for backup, Chase Monroe breaks from his group to pursue several high ranking Nazi officers including Dietrich Troy, Ludwig Brandt, and even Adolf Hitler himself. The officers evacuate through the SDZ, but Monroe is able to follow them just moments before the portal is deliberately sabotaged by the Nazi-remnants using dynamite. The Incident at Lübeck is covered up by the Office of Strategic Services, and any documents that were not destroyed by the Nazi-remnants are brought back to the United States. However, American scientist are unable to put together the missing pieces, and eventually give up on the project, assuming it to be another impossible Wonder Weapon that never would have worked in practice.
December: Chase Monroe is declared Missing In Action.
1957: Hugh Everett formulates the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics, which states that every possible quantum outcome is realized in divergent, non-communicating parallel universes in quantum superposition.
October: Humanity's first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, is launched into orbit.
1964: John Stewart Bell puts forth Bell's theorem, which inaugurated the study of quantum entanglement; the phenomenon in which separate particles share the same quantum state despite being at a distance from each other.
1966: Humanity's first soft landing on another world (the Moon).
1971: Humanity's first soft landing on another planet (Mars).
1977: Voyager 1 and 2 are launched from Earth.
1981: Humanity's first reusable manned spacecraft, STS-1, is launched.
1986: Humanity's first consistently inhabited long-term research space station, Mir, begins operation.
1998: The International Space Station begins operation.
2001: The Global War on Terror begins, which is considered to be the first truly global effort of the world's nations against a common enemy.
2009: Scientists warn that the effects of global warming are now so severe that they cannot be reversed.
2011: The corporate endeavor Mars One is founded, planning for a one-way trip to make the first human Mars, which will be funded by making it a reality TV show.
2018: The IPCC reports that if global warming continues to allow global temperatures to pass 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2030, the results will be catastrophic and irreversible, resulting in the destruction of habitats, the loss of food sources, and the displacement of billions.
2023: The Global War on Terror is declared over through a mix of negotiation and (in some cases) complete annihilation of various terror groups.
2030: Global temperatures pass the 1.5 degree rise warned about by the IPCC. Runaway glacial melting begins.
2032: Mars One departs from Earth after several delays.
2033: Mars One arrives on Mars.
2034: Mars One colonists all perish due to dwindling supplies and mental breakdowns, making international news as the entire tragedy is caught on live video. An incompetent selection process is blamed.
2036: Mars One goes bankrupt.
2038: Chronic flooding of the world's coastal cities, combined with severe droughts further inland, begins to severely devastate the economies of many nations. The Water Wars begin in the Middle East.
2040: The Water Wars result in skyrocketing prices for crude oil, culminating in a standoff between China, Europe, Russia, India, and the United States.
2041: Rheinmetall, Thyssen-Krupp, Walther and Heckler and Koch initiate a massive merger unseen in economic history after the German Cartel Law has been slowly eroded with punctuated lobbyism and economic crisis. The result is the first megacorporation of Humanity - Hephaestus Industries.
2042: For the first time in human history, a nuclear fusion reactor produces a net gain in power. However, the net gain is so minuscule that even wind and solar power are seen as far more practical and cost effective options.
2054: The first sentient AI is created. It has the cognitive ability of a 4 year old child.
2063: The colonization of Luna begins under the aegis of the United Nations opens the door to further extraterrestrial colonization.
2068: Despite desperate international efforts to avert a crisis, the Water Wars end with a localized nuclear war between Middle Eastern nations, plus India and Pakistan. Billions are killed. It is the largest loss of human life to a single war in the course of human history. Numerous nations are destroyed or collapse completely, such as Armenia, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Pakistan, Qatar, Syria, Yemen, and the United Arab Emirates.
2069: Earth's nations vow to lay down their nuclear arms in order to avoid an incident like the Water Wars, for fear of a war on such a scale that it could be the end of humanity.
2070: In the aftermath of the Water Wars, a reformed interpretation of Islam, known as 'Tariq Al'Islam', takes root in the Middle East. Believing that the devastating war had been divine punishment for centuries of transgressions, this new religious reinforces the idea of a better, friendlier Middle East.
2071: Remnants of Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey sign the Treat of Niqaba, also known as The Brotherhood Treaty. Bitter and ancient rivalries between the four nations are put to an end with the founding of the United Republic of Mesopotamia. Other surviving Middle Eastern nations including Afghanistan, Bahrain, and Oman eventually join the newly formed Republic. Reconstruction and reform efforts begin across the Middle East. However, oil production in the area remains permanently devastated.
2072: Rising sea levels due to climate change result in the destruction of New York City during a major storm, killing thousands, and stranding millions. The United Nations headquarters is moved to Paris during the emergency. This change becomes permanent.
2075: The Unified Earth Government (UEG) is commissioned by the United Nations as an assembly of political leaders and brilliant minds, and is tasked with attempting to avert the crises of the next century by solving governmental unification issues of colonizing non-Earth territories. Among its first members are much of the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and India. The United States, Russia, and China decline an invitation, which creates doubt that the UEG's efforts will be successful.
2076: The United Republic of Mesopotamia joins the UEG. Recently elected President Abdul Majeed al-Radwan famously declares that unless humanity can live without borders, the world will perish. He cites the Water Wars as a cautionary tale, and implores the United States, Russia, and China to join the rest of humanity.
2078: Permanent colonization of Mars is initiated by a collection of international corporate interests, which brings industry off-world. It also provides some alleviation to the strain on Earth's resources and environment.
2079: Bluespace is discovered. The Journal of Higher Dimensional Physics publishes an article about the discovery.
2080: The UEG's nations pool together their resources to colonize Luna, Mars, and a handful of other sites in the Sol system, including the Jovian Moons, and a number of asteroids.
2081: The Antarctic Wars begin as China and the United States attempt to seize oil reserves in the antarctic, disregarding international treaties in the process. Neither nations are willing to use nuclear weapons, or attack each other's mainland.
November: Rather than participate in the war, Russia joins the UEG, providing the alliance with a strong military presence. In doing so, Cuba, Venezuela, Kazakhstan, and Belarus also join.
2083: Synthetic production and isolation of the Alden-Saraspova particle has been successful. Directly responsible for the Bluespace Effect, faster than light travel seems to be theoretically possible, if energy requirements can be resolved.
2085: The first Bluespace engine is invented. Slow, bulky, dangerous, and prohibitively expensive, it nonetheless revolutionizes physics and space travel. Japan joins the UEG in order to participate directly in its development. However, it lacks a suitable power source.
2086: North Korea finally collapses in violent revolt. The influx of refugees severely hamper the Chinese war effort. The United States is accused for providing weapons, but this is never proven.
2087: Hephaestus develops weapons of mass destruction, most notably a fusion bomb for use on strategic warheads. The UEG puts an end to it, to the relief of Humanity and to the chagrin of corporate interest.
2088: The first practical fusion reactor is produced, powering cities throughout western Europe.
2090: Orbital construction begins on Hakobune, the first ever colony ship intended to set course for a world outside of the Sol. Companies from Japan and South Korea play a core role in its development, most notably in the development of an on-board fusion reactor to power it. South Korea also joins the UEG.
2091: Animal DNA is combined with human DNA in a procedure that comes to be colloquially known as Splicing. Originally used for medicinal purposes, such as allowing people to regrow lost body parts or extend their lifetime, the new technology is more often used for cosmetic purposes.
2092: The United Earth Government bans Splicing, citing health risks. Critics of the legislation argue that the ban is based on fearmongering rather than scientific study, and that the ban will create an unsafe underground market in which splicing will continue; which it does.
2093: The last gas-powered car in Europe is dismantled for scrap. Without the economic strain of fossil fuels, the UEG experiences a substantial economic boom. The cost of fuel is at its lowest point since the Water Wars, but it's still 150% more expensive compared to any point prior to the Water War.
2094: The Antarctic War enters its 13th year, and has become severely bogged down on both sides. The United States and China are both left in poverty, while enviously watching the UEG continue to flourish. To make matters worse, what oil could be recovered at the Antarctic proves to be substantially less than what was hoped for. The public on both sides sees the conflict as a lost cause.
2097: Beaten and demoralized, the United States and China reluctantly agree to meet at the negotiation table. The UEG offers economic aid in exchange for an end to their war. China is the first to give in, and joins the UEG. Many Asian and African nations follow suit.
2099: China withdraws the last of its troops from Antarctica, signalling an informal end to the Antarctic War. The United States celebrates, though it's a hollow victory.
2100: The Hakobune launches at the turn of the century. This marks the beginning of the Interstellar Age for Humanity. Equipped with both a Bluespace drive and Cold Fusion powered Bluespace jump drive, the vessel is capable of reaching speeds of up to eight times the speed of light in Bluespace as a means to reach other stars in a matter of weeks, rather than years. It has a jump range of only 5 light years, but it's enough to reach Sol's closest neighbors. Meanwhile, Humanity spreads across Sol, forming colony after colony in the inner system and harvesting resources from the asteroid belt. Mars serves as the main manufacturing and processing hub for these ores and metals gained from belter mining. The colonization of Venus is made possible with the invention of Plasteel, a lightweight and durable material capable and flexible enough to create aerostat colonies.
2101: Caving to international and domestic political pressure, the United States at last casts a public ballot to join the UEG. It's a landslide victory.
2104: The last President of the United States ends his term in office. The United States formally joins the UEG, and following its example are the last of the world's nations—mostly from South America. For the first time in human history, there are no longer any ongoing wars. Earth is truly united, and not a moment too soon, as Martian colonies begin to chafe under the rule of the UEG.
June: The National Martian Assembly convenes for the first time. What follows is the gradual expulsion of extramartian industrial interests, leading to increased pressure from the UEG, up to and including military intervention.
August: The National Martian Assembly forms the Ares Federation in an attempt to unite against foreign interest and declare their independence from the UEG. An expeditionary force is sent out to pacify the rogue colonies. This marks the beginning of the Ares Crisis. The conflict causes relatively few casualties in the first six months. Humanity is new to interplanetary warfare and most ships are just re-purposed civilian spacecraft. However, this soon changes as the first dedicated military vessels begin to roll out of orbital drydocks on both sides.
February: The February Offensive is the first major military operation staged in the transorbital war zone. Fleet Elements of the First Terran Armada blockade the Ares Federation drydrocks and a sortie is deployed to break this siege. It ends in a pyhrric victory for the UEG. UEG forces land in Roanoake. Martian independence is threatened for the first time. While the UEG fail to meet its primary objectives, they manage to entrench themselves and establish a beachhead. Volunteer forces fight with more and more radical methods and desperately attempt total mobilization. Elements within the Ares Federation doubt they will fully break the yoke of the UEG and are willing to negotiate.
March: The war becomes increasingly unpopular with Earth's population and public support for the war effort dwindles. Sympathy spreads for the Martian colonists, especially after the documentary "Beyond the Green : Life on Mars" is published against the desire of the UEG.
June: An Armistice is declared. Forces stand down as they have driven themselves into a deadlock. Negotiations start for the future of the Red Planet.
December: After a period of long negotiations and intermittent belligerence on both sides, the UEG and the Ares Federation declare peace. The Federation dissolves and its constituent members are fully integrated as voting members into the UEG, which becomes an artificial title as Humanity is now a true interplanetary government. What follows is a renaissance in both Martian and Terran societies as Humanity is united once again. The Ares Crisis ends, having planted the seeds for extraplanetary warfare, legal combatant PMCs, and war economy on a Global Scale.
2106: The Hakobune charges its Bluespace Jump Drive for the first time and departs for Proxima Centauri, where the first exoplanet, now named Covenant, is colonized soon after. The first colony to be founded is called Goddard's Intent. It is the first of millions of human colonies to come.
May: Crude artificial gravity devices spread in human space after the first interstellar Bluespace jump.
June: Zeng-Hu introduces new pharmaceuticals to promote strong lungs, healthy bones and decent muscle tissue even in microgravitaty environments. The company's stocks skyrocket due to these patents, which make permanent habitation of extraterrestrial colonies now possible without losing the ability to live on Earth. More and more humans spill to the stars, making the formerly empty space alive with communications chatter and transports.
2107: Venus gains prominence and importance as hydroponic installations begin to yield a massive food surplus. The presence of pure sulfuric acid and nitrogen in the atmosphere provides a seemingly limitless supply of ingredients for fertilizer, while sunlight and temperatures can now be easily regulated within the aerostat colonies. Much of Venus's industry is devoted to food, which regularly supply other Sol colonies. Venus, referred to as the "Bread Basket of Sol", joins Earth and Mars as major powers within the UEG.
June: With the massive influx of foodstuff independent from local production, orbital stations and lunar colonies become larger and more complex. Advancements in artificial gravity, combined with rotational force upon asteroids, also allow asteroid colonies to maintain simulated gravity that is nearly identical to that of Earth. The asteroid belt gains its first true, permanent citizens. 'Belters' become a political power and gain traction to better conditions for the fringes of Humanity.
November: The Belters are dissatisfied with slow reform of their lives and radical elements convene on Europa. This marks the start of the 3rd Internationale. Remembering the lessons of Stalin, Lenin and Trotzky, the 3rd Internationale is more often referred to as the 2nd Soviet Union. The UEG acts swiftly, to suppress and remove terroristic influences outside the Inner System.
2108: The Mannschmidt Accords soothe some rifts between Belters and the UEG. However, the 3rd Internationale remains a major underground force and terrorist organization within the fledgling human empire. The Red Scare receives somewhat of a revival.
October: The Martian Stock market crashes after creating the Colony Charter Bubble, in which private entrepreneurs oversold the success of privately funded colonies within the Kuiper Belt. Emergency measures and state appropriation of colonies try to combat the worst, but the 3rd Internationale seizes its chance and takes over several colonies, seceding from the UEG.
December: The 3rd Internationale is resoundingly destroyed as Venus refuses to supply them with food. Starving revolutionaries become compliant again. However, the existence of such an armed uprising leads to the limitation of Colony Charters, only granted now after thorough review by the Ministry of Colonial Acquisitions for their sustainability and profitability. This slows the process of new colonies being built, however it proves to be beneficial in the long term.
2109: The Hakobune returns to Earth to resupply, and brings with it word of its successful colonization of an exoplanet. Several new colony ships begin development. They are named Discovery, Event Horizon, La Perouse, Lateralus, Leif Eriksson, Magellan, Sovereign, and Zheng He.
2115: UES La Perouse departs for Sirius.
2119: Extrasolar asteroids are found to contain trace amounts of a super heavy element with extreme reductive behavior and an unexplained stability. Beyond becoming a curiosity for chemists and nuclear physicists, the discovery changes little in the field of science. Colloquially referred to as plasma at the time, Phoron will later become a crucial part of interstellar travel as the Alden-Saraspova particle occurs naturally in it, rendering its synthesis moot.
2120: The UES Event Horizon leaves for Luhman 16. It is never found again. Its last message reads "Oh god, the red eyes are everywhere!" Meanwhile, the La Perouse reports success in Sirius, although they have trouble finding viable water sources. This is a common problem with extrasolar colonies as large bodies of easily accessible water are rare and ice asteroid mining is a dangerous business and the refinement difficult.
January: The UES Leif Eriksson leaves for Tau Ceti.
August: The Third Emu War begins. The UEG uses orbital bombardment to clear out the vile fowl folk. This time, humanity wins, though barely; a grim reminder to not overdo genetic re-sequencing with birds. Australian refugees scatter across the stars, finally settling in Tiamat, Alpha Centauri. Tiamat becomes colloquially known as Space Australia because of the refugees.
2122: Tiamat, with the rather substantial influx of migrants, becomes a major exporter of water and xenobiological life. Extrasolar colonies prosper with the influx of water tankers. Alpha Centauri as a whole becomes much more important and demands more autonomy from the UEG, who stall on any request to give them concessions. The situation begins to mirror the Ares Crisis; a fact many prominent politicians begin to point out.
June: The first meeting of the Terran Ecological Renewal Forum takes place. UEG members and extrasolar colonization scientists meet to discuss Earth and its exhausted biosphere. The damages done over human history are considerable, and Australia is ecologically devastated after the Third Emu War. The Middle East still suffers from radiation and deadly exclusion zones. The plastic island in the Pacific is nearly the size of Europe. Everyone agrees that something needs to be done. A massive industrial effort starts to correct the ecological disaster, and for the first time in human history, everyone actually pitches in. From Terran coreworlders to fringe colonists in the Kuiper Belt, a combined effort is made to clean up Earth's environment. A considerable amount of money goes into the PR campaign associated with the TERF movement, which doubtlessly contributed to the massive civil mobilization.
December: An army of plastic-eating drones are set loose in the Pacific to destroy the continent-sized island of plastic debris.
2125: Several extinct species have been successfully reintroduced by the TERF movement thanks to advances in cloning technology. Increased urbanization across the globe leaves many rural regions abandoned as agriculture becomes increasingly more centralized on Venus. The result is Earth's ecology reclaiming the land over time. Desertification grinds slowly down to a halt, and even begins to revert. It seems that Earth can possibly recover from the voracious behavior of Humanity.
2136: The Leif Eriksson reports success in arrival and settlement of Tau Ceti. The other colony ships report varying degrees of successes and failures. Nonetheless, Humanity can rest in the knowledge they have seeded amongst the stars. However, the UEG struggles to keep the colonies in line, much like how it happened on Mars. Unwilling to repeat this darker chapter in history, the Solar Assembly is founded to represent colonial interests outside of Sol. The UEG grants semi-autonomy to Alpha Centauri and its colonies a seat in the Solar Assembly.
2138: The plastic island floating in the Pacific ocean is confirmed to be eradicated. Nearly a billion tons of plastic are recovered in total, which have been re-sold for manufacturing across Humanity's empire. The drones used to collect the garbage are also sold off and often re-purposed.
2140: Australia's ecosystem has been stabilized. After much debate, the original Emu is reintroduced into the wild as well. They integrate fully without much hassle. Australia is repaired. Even the Middle East enjoys rehabilitation as state of the art radiation scrubbers clean up past mistakes.
2157: Tau Ceti becomes a major trading hub and extracts much wealth from outlying colonies with tariffs and tolls. The precedented amount of wealth is used to build up a solid infrastructure and academic state. Due to its newfound importance, Tau Ceti demands a seat in the Solar Assembly... and gets it. They now stand almost equal to Sol.
2159: The Age of Piracy begins as the limited capabilities for the UEG to act outside Sol, Tau Ceti, and Alpha Centauri leads to many colonies to be poorly defended. Separatists, terrorists, and the remnants of the 3rd Internationale find fertile grounds for a renewed recruitment drive from disgruntled fringe colonists.
2161: The 4th Internationale is founded. The resurgence of terrorist groups leads to the creation of the Solar Militia Mandate, and the birth of the "Colonial Marine". With the security issues addressed and colonies fervently adhering to the Mandate one way or the other, the brief Age of Piracy is put to an end. While Space Piracy does continue despite the best efforts of the UEG, it becomes a rare occurrence as the rule of law is enforced on an interstellar scale. The 4th Internationale lays low and bides its time, slowly infiltrating governments and societies alike.
2166: The 4th Internationale, under the leadership of dictator Vladimir Bobrov, officially changes its name to the 3rd Soviet Union.
2176: Jovian Orbital, renamed to the Jovian Republic, joins the Solar Assembly and the UEG. It is the first orbital habitat big enough to be considered its own nation. Over three million people live in the complex, cavernous habitat, made of human-made stations, hollowed out asteroids, and assimilated space ships.
2185: Humanity makes a baffling discovery, requiring astrophysicists to re-examine their timeline of the galaxy's formation. A red dwarf is found in its dying stages. The only anomaly this dwarf star exhibits is an overabundance of the previously discovered super-heavy element known as Phoron.
2187: Medical sciences, material sciences, and exotic energy sciences blossom up, now headed by the flagships of NanoInnovations Incorporated and Trasen Pharmaceuticals. The two companies become rich as they discover numerous consumer uses for Phoron. Miracle drugs created by the super-heavy element find widespread use for Humanity, especially in microgravity environments. The human life expectancy increases dramatically.
2194: More and more colonies become prosperous enough to demand representation in the Solar Assembly. The UEG, Tau Ceti and Alpha Centauri, however, block this motion as it becomes too unwieldy with ever more increasing members. The now militarized colonies become increasingly upset and create a state of de facto autonomy among themselves. The Colonial Cold War begins, leading to the prominence of the UEG's Office of Naval Intelligence. ONI becomes a notorious clandestine organization, not afraid to use their resources and personnel in the most ruthless ways necessary to secure the future of the UEG.
2196: Communication between colonies becomes more reliable as the intranet protocols are reformed and streamlined into an UEG-backed mega project, called the Umbrella Initiative. Thousands of communications satellites are installed in orbits of colonies, both monitoring and relaying information by sending quantum signals through Bluespace tunnels to other satellites, providing almost lagless communication and bandwidth over lightyears of distance.
2198: A global cooldown of Earth causes the oceans to recede as polar caps finally begin to grow again. Flooded regions, especially in the Netherlands, Great Britain, Southern United States, South America, and south east Asia become habitable again. The ruins of old cities become a treasure trove of artifacts from the old world. A humanist revival begins, with major conservative, spiritual, and eco-friendly movements swaying hearts and minds of people. Retro becomes chic and many contemporary musicians of the 21st century start to become considered "classic", influencing musicians of the 22nd and 23rd century.
2199: Religion gains renewed traction in the lives of many humans as a major factor in their lives, especially amongst disenfranchised fringe colonists and traditionalist movements. Tariq Al'Islam, Anglican churches, and the Catholic-Orthodox church gain prominence by funding and supporting colonial efforts, spreading communities far and wide into the stars.
2200: AIs reach their practical ceiling for Humanity. Despite all efforts, true humanlike sapience can not be replicated with current technology. However, their design has reached such a sophistication that they can be programmed into extremely competent expert machines which can fool people into believing they are humans in casual conversation.
2201: ONI is accused of data-mining and wiretapping upon the telecommunications network produced by the Umbrella Initiative. Politicians demand more transparency of ONI's operations, but the demands are ignored, and the outrage eventually dies down.
2202: Léon Moreau gains a large following on Earth and beyond. Former a planetary atmospheric engineer, an accident led him to become a preacher of what is latter called "Moreaurism" or Unitarianism. A syncretic set of beliefs with many elements from Abrahamic religions, Moreau calls for the "Jihad of Decay", taking up the banner of TERF, now defunct, to "Terraform" Earth back into a pristine planet.
2211: A group of researchers led by Erik Alden and Anastasia Sarapova make a discovery that changes the nature of Faster-than-Light Travel by proving that Phoron naturally contains a stable form of the exotic particle that is entangled with Bluespace. In their honor, it is named the Alden-Sarapova particle.
2213: Using the Alden-Sarapova particle, the first modern Bluespace drive prototype is designed on paper, which is theoretically far more fuel efficient and less volatile than any predecessor, mostly due to the inclusion of Phoron as a source for the Alden-Sarapova particle.
2217: The Colonial Cold War briefly flares up and threatens to become hot. The Colony "Gloria IV" refuses to follow the Solar Militia Mandate, citing they are already well protected by their wealth and their neighboring colonies, who are very much dependent on the trade and infrastructure of Gloria IV. They all unite under the banner of the Gloria Republic. UEG Navy detachments begin to blockade the planet, diverting civilian ships around it. It is officially called a "quarantine", but many dissenters call it an illegal act of war.
2219: The patent for the Alden-Sarapova Bluespace Drive is made public domain. Anastasia Sarapova is quoted saying "it would be a detriment to humanity" to keep the patent for themselves.
2228: Hyperurbanization becomes common in the most prosperous colonies within Sol, such as Mars, Earth, and the Jovian Republic. While skyscraper cities bare their own load of problems, such as social isolation and dereliction in the lower sections, as well high urban crime rates, many, many humans living in such prosperous colonies accept these conditions. Arcology design and architecture become highly prestigious academic fields as Moreauism becomes an important factor in politics, which calls for eco-friendly and sustainable cities. Green energy becomes much more relevant.
2229: The invention of the first Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage (often shortened to SMES) revolutionizes energy management as electric energy can be safely stored for decades without significant decay while enjoying efficiency upwards 80 percent.
2231: The first prototype Alden-Sarapova Bluespace Drive is produced. It smashes previous jump distance records by achieving a 27.2 light year jump from Earth to Xi Ursae Majoris. It also sets a record for the smallest ship capable of FTL travel, thanks to more reasonable power requirements that makes synthetic Alden-Sarapova engines obsolete.
2232: President of the UEG Henry Blackhouse survives an attempt on his life. A popular reformist, Blackhouse swears that the matter will be investigated in its entirety and addressed appropriately. What follows is a political scandal on an interstellar scale, commonly dubbed the "Umbrella Affair". Civil investigators, Blackhouse Administration members, and whistle-blowers within ONI begin to leak numerous illegal activities of ONI, such as the mass surveillance of Umbrella Initiative satellites, the kidnapping of a prominent fringe colonist activist, the diversion of colonial development funds, and even the attempted assassination of the president to replace him with a more jingoist and conservative candidate. ONI Director Manuel Lacher is impeached on charges of Corruption, and Treason. ONI is taken over by Loren Faust, who is closely associated with Blackhouse's administration. Lacher is sent to a maximum security prison on the moon Titan.
November: On the day of his scheduled execution, Manuel Lacher escapes imprisonment from Titan. He eludes any attempt of recapture.
2234: Orbital solar collectors become standard for many less energy hungry colonial planets. Cold fusion plants cover most of the rest of energy requirements. Nuclear fission is mostly phased out at this point, relegated to upstart colonies who not yet have the necessary infrastructure for fancier methods of electricity production.
2237: The first commercially viable Alden-Sarapova Bluespace Drives appear on the market. It is also adopted by the UEG's navy. The Expansion Age begins.
2239: Earth's atmosphere is restored to pre-industrial levels of CO2. Although some scars never fade, the exploitation of Earth finally stops, and backwards implementation of Terraformation methods restores a stable environment. The last vestiges of heavy industry are moved off-planet. Only relatively eco-friendly industries, especially in cultural agricultural, logging, and service sectors remain. The ozone layer has been mended, and plastic in the oceans come to a record low. Earth becomes the pristine jewel of not only the UEG, but all of Humanity.
2248: The Skrell are publicly acknowledged as the first intelligent species to be discovered by Humanity. The aforementioned colony had been pretending to be a native species to the planet they were inhabiting, and are now calling for status as a client species to the many Qerr Monarchies. The Skrell misunderstand this as a request for all of humanity to be uplifted, and begin nonviolently invading other human systems. The UEG has to explain repeatedly to Skrellian governments that Humanity is already a very capable interstellar species, and that this fringe colony does not speak for the whole of the UEG. The humiliation suffered makes one thing clear; the Colonial Cold War must end, one way or another.
2249: Tensions rise between the Skrellian city-states and the UEG, as the UEG confiscates alien artifacts that the Skrell had gifted to the lying colony. Reverse-engineering of the technology is achieved despite protests from the Skrell. The Bluespace Drive becomes even more refined and reliable, all the while gaining valuable insight for the stable creation of Bluespace tunnels between two fixed points, which shares similarities to an Einstein-Rosen Bridge. This will later lead to the development of Bluespace Gateways.
2250: Xenophobic tensions cause harsh legislation to be passed against Splicers. Formerly, it was illegal to offer the procedure, but not illegal to undergo it. Changes to the law make it illegal to have genetic augmentations of any kind not directly prescribed by a doctor. Splicers are arrested en masse and forcibly reverted back to human forms while serving prison sentences.
2251: The tensions domestic and foreign overwhelm the UEG and its hegemony in the Colonial Cold War. Rim colonies refuse to trade with Tau Ceti, threatening to crash its economy. Civil disobedience rises as Alpha Centauri threatens to cut off its water supply to the rebellious colonies, mimicking what Venus has done to the 2nd Soviet Union. This, however, backfires horribly as the unrepresented colonies have prepared for this situation and have already implemented water reclamation and austerity policies to wait out such sanctions.
2254: The Grand Forum reaches a conclusion after much debate and political battles. The UEG is dissolved and reforms into the United Systems of Sol Central, shortened as Sol Central, or SolGov. The addition of the Colonial Assembly allows representation of all colonies that are populous or prosperous enough to join. The Solar Militia Mandate is replaced with the Colonial Security Act. The UEG Military merges with many colonial outfits, which is then reorganized and renamed as the United Solar Defense Force. A Declaration of Galactic Rights is declared for all sentient life forms. The Colonial Cold War ends on a high note, leading to the birth of an insterstellar empire.
2255: Advocates of splicing organize a crowdfunded expedition called Project Jasher to establish a new colony where they will not be prosecuted by SolGov. Several philanthropists and genetic study firms dump huge sums of funding into the project.
2259: Project Jasher uses a third party to purchase four colony ships. Applicants for the crew are chosen in secret, and the four vessels depart from Sol with some 20,000 individuals on board per ship. By the time authorities realize what is going on, the ships have already left.
2262: An attempted coup on Earth plunges SolGov into chaos as Manuel Lacher returns. Having formed a conspiracy organization with embezzled funds and rogue agents from the Umbrella Affair, he briefly overthrows SolGov, and declares Martial Law. Loyalist government members flee out of Sol and hide in the nearby colonies. This marks the exposure of the "Lacher Syndicate", an underground network rooted through the entirety of Human Space, with major prominent figures in corporations, governments and other influential organizations that were blackmailed, bribed, or brainwashed to further the goals of the former ONI Director.
December: Loyalist forces consolidate behind current President Komatsu, who had survived the coup, and now campaigns to restore the constitutional government. Humanity is thrown into disarray as many colonies take the chance to simply cede themselves from the government of SolGov.
2268: Lacher loses his grip on Tau Ceti, having been purged from syndicate elements by Komatsu forces and agents. This marks the effective end of Lacher's regime as more and more colonies throw off his reign of terror and subterfuge.
2270: A counter-coup of Earth and Luna leads to Lacher's apprehension before he can finish his last ditch effort: Plan End Game. It would have scorched the planetary surfaces of Earth, Mars, and Venus with hydrogen bombs to give him time to escape. However, his efforts are thwarted. The reconstituted government of Komatsu decides to execute him immediately this time. However, many elements, networks, equipment, and agents of the Lacher Syndicate simply vanish from the public eye.
2289: The dreaded blood-red and black insignia of Lacher's movement resurfaces within the criminal underworld of Humanity. The Syndicate survived Lacher's execution, now focused on criminal enterprises, corporate espionage, and illicit mercenary services. Its new leadership remains a mystery.
2290: Project Jasher's colony ships reach their destinations, far beyond the reach of SolGov space. Among them is the Chimera, which makes first contact with the United Federation. The colonists assimilate into Federation society, but do not report back to SolGov with their discovery. The whereabouts of the Project Jasher colonists remains a mystery to SolGov for decades.
2293: Black ships reach the coreward-spinward fringe of human settled space. They speak a simple message: Join the Unathi Hegemony as client species, or be conquered. This marks the first contact with the reptilian aliens of The Unathi Hegemony. SolGov colonies refuse and send emergency messages to the central government in a bid of help. Local fleet elements of the SDN are quickly overwhelmed, ending in the Salthan Occupation by the Unathi. This marks the beginning of the most devastating and protracted interstellar war to date; The Hegemony War.
March: The Unathi Subjugation Armada quickly establishes beachheads and military governments on occupied planets and begin the ruthless "integration" of occupied human colonists. Fear tactics, collaborationism, and execution of subversive elements are used by the Unathi to secure power. While they learn little about the expanse of Human Space, rebel factions gather intel on the Unathi, making SolGov realize that the Unathi Hegemony is a dominant power in the coreward sector, expanding with a mixture of gunboat diplomacy and conquest.
May: The Unathi settle and consolidate conquered territory of Humanity, thinking they have captured Humanity's capital; a garden world called Capella, which is the dominant colony in the Salthan sector. However, they are mistaken and are confused about the avid resistance they meet, unprecedented for a fully conquered species. More stringent and brutal methods are taken to cow Humanity's will to fight.
September: SolGov calls for a total mobilization of the colonial assets to protect Human Sovereignty and Liberty. With a landslide victory in both the Solar Assembly and the Colonial Assembly, it is agreed to declare Martial Law. A draft is imposed on the colonies. However, it is meet with cheers and many, many volunteers who are eager to fight for SolGov and the occupied colonies.
2294: The SDN is fully mobilized in the Salthan sector; the main war theater in the early Hegemony War. Quickly, Humanity realizes they are hopelessly outmatched in both military doctrine and war technology against the battle-forged Hegemony fleets. A bloody attrition war begins with the expeditionary fleets, throwing away cheap war vessels in alpha strikes and guerilla warfare to cut off Unathi supplies.
2296: The ruthless advance of the Unathi fleets are stalled as the attrition starts to take toll on the Unathi, who have underestimated the total mobilization of Humanity, whom have a history of committing their entire industry and even civilian lives towards a war effort. Austerity measures are taken within SolGov, exhausting the civil population somewhat, although the sale of War Bonds is at an all time high even in the more rebellious colonies. "Better an enemy you know than a Xeno!" becomes an unofficial slogan among formerly belligerent colonies.
Juli: A few Skrellian city-states begin to support SolGov in the war effort through relief measures for the battered civilian industry, citing that the Unathi are a threat to galactic harmony as a whole. Other, minor societies within the Skrell begin to assemble volunteer corps and fleets to aid the humans against Unathi occupation. Propaganda begins to portray humans as the Bulwark of Democracy.
2298: The Rapala, an Unathi client species, now sheds the title "Unathi-Rapala" and bid their lot with independence and Humanity. While their uprising is crushed, refugees and former warlords assemble into a volunteer fleet for SolGov, granting them Supreme Command. This is a lucky stroke for humans and especially the ONI, as they are a treasure trove of intel on the Unathi Hegemony; both in leaked tactics and stolen technology. Captured cruisers and destroyers are dissected and analyzed for weaknesses and benefits of Unathi tech. Spearheaded by Hephaestus Industries efforts, the stolen technology is soon integrated into human designs.
2303: The protracted war within the Salthan sector begins tipping in humanity's favor. Several smaller colonies are liberated and the local Unathi military government executed. Morale raises within the SolGov ranks. While the war is far from over, the current fleet assets of the Hegemony have pushed themselves into a deadlock. Major operations grind to a halt as the war shifts into a skirmish phase where only minor conflicts show any change in the war front.
2304: Casualties measure in the millions for the Unathi. However, the human side suffers greatly more, measuring almost one billion dead by some estimates. However, this changes little for SolGov. Propaganda and war journalism show the lives of occupied colonies within Unathi space; an authoritarian government hell-bent on submission to the dominant species, the original Unathi. Christian churches call the war "the Great Crusade," while Islamic scholars refer to it as "The greatest of all lesser jihads." Even Moreausists, who are generally pacifistic and non-violent, strive towards supporting the war effort, usually by way of volunteering in military hospitals and refugee camps. Humanity and their allies stay uniformly united against the invader.
2306: The Unathi conduct a spearhead into the inner edge of the Salthan sector upon realizing that humanity's home systems lie yet further beyond their grasp. Humanity's inner colonies come under threat, as do industrial worlds that are vital to the war effort. However, other client species to the Unathi, inspired by humanity's perseverance, begin to rebel and disobey their Unathi leaders. This cripples Unathi logistics enough that Humanity manages to contain the offensive known as The Miranda Incursion. The failed offensive of the Unathi proves a turning point in the war. The Unathi lose numerous ships, assets, and lives. The Hegemony's momentum is broken, and Humanity starts to push back.
2309: Through the course of the Hegemony War, the SDN becomes a veteran fleet and have gained much insight in the in and outs of interstellar warfare. The branch of the RDA becomes its own Navy and organization, tasked with rapid strikes and screening tactics. Traditional Unathi war doctrine struggles to keep up with the continuous innovation of Human tactics, and become increasingly more isolated from supplies and reinforcements. SRU soldiers and ONI agents begin to infiltrate Unathi territory, where they conduct both espionage and sabotage.
2310: The Liberation of Capella begins, trying to take the major colony back into Human Hands. During the course of the invasion, the groundwork of the CA doctrine is set, as well as ODT special forces. The first exosuits are deployed in combat and prove effective in their role as All-Terrain cavalry for quick deployment. Orbital bombardement with inert tungsten rods begin to scar the planetary surface while the planet's orbit becomes littered with destroyed and scuttled ships from both sides.
2312: Capella is liberated, although it is a phyrric victory. While the colony is finally free, much of its infrastructure lies in ruin from continued bombardement of both sides during the conflict. Much of the population had been displaced or kiled during the war. May believe Capella will never again reach the prosperity and splendour it formerly had, but this nonetheless marks the end of Unathi offensives. The Unathi are instead routed back into their own territory, where the RDN continues to harass them whenever possible, adding further humiliation to the Hegemony's leadership.
May: Unathi military commander, Army Chief Saakihassis, is executed for false accusations of treason that led to his defeat at Capella.
2322: The Salthan sector is liberated at great cost to human life. The Unathi, cutting their own losses, begin to destroy occupied colonies and evacuate with every scrap of supplies they can get, including phoron, food, electricity, and medicine. The scorced world tactics cripple the advance of Humanity as humanitarian efforts are assembled to prevent starvation. However, many colonies become desolate, empty ghost towns and wastelands despite these efforts. The once prosperous region becomes a war-ravaged, sundered place, and a deep scar into humanity's expansion. This marks the end of the Expansion Age.
2328: The war reachs a temporary lull as the bullwark of the Unathi Fleets fortify the border between Hegemonial and SolGov space, leaving the war once again in a deadlock. While the colonies are liberated and the Unathi expulsed, the Unathi refuse to declare an armistice, and continue needling and incursing into Human Space, mimicking the raider tactics learned from humanity.
2330: Strangely enough, the Unathi Raider Fleets who were copying human tactics are mysteriously destroyed. One such fleet's wreckage is discovered by the ONI, who are puzzled and concerned at first about what unknown attacker could have done this, as no human engagements had been reported in the system. Rapalan military command later discovers the incident to be a deliberate act of Unathi high command in response to an unacceptable taboo within Unathi culture; relying on the ways of a lesser species instead of superior Unathi tactics. Further investigation to understand their foe are put underway, with the ONI fervently trying to understand the inner workings of the Hegemony.
2335: ONI decyphers the current political situation of the Unathi Hegemony, striking fear into SolGov High Command. The only reason why the Hegemony is waning in their war efforts are their internal conflicts. Encouraged by the successes of Humanity, many client species had been rebelling and trying to split from the Hegemony, thus tying up Unathi fleet elements, preventing them from acting against the war front. Aside from that, the main philosophy holding the Hegemony together is shaken to its core. The supremacy and superiority of Unathi culture is questioned, leaving to a civil war within the Hegemony. One faction demands isolation and reflection of the Unathi Ways to renew them and become stronger than anyone else. The other favours a more aggressive expansion and partial opening of Unathi tradition to allow incorporation of other cultures' achievements, in order to allow the Unathi to become a proper Hegemony again. The third faction, the most radical, thinks aliens can prove themselves and become full Unathi as well. This faction demands that the upper ranks and even cultural elites open up to xenos. The bitter three-way conflict interferes with the Unathi war effort, but the threat remains that the Hegemony could potentially re-establish supreme command over all their assets, which could end the war with a crushing, bloody defeat for humanity.
December: An emergency meeting is held between SolGov's military and political leaders, including those in charge of formerly rebel factions. They discuss how to put an end to the war as soon as possible, and decide upon an assault on the fortress world of Sin'Zakhna, which lies within Hegemony space, and contains much of the Unathi military command structure.
2343: After eight years of planning, Operation Mongoose begins. The bulk of Humanity's armada is sent to take part in the largest combat operation in the history of any known sentient species at the time. The daring siege of Sin'Zakhna leads to the final stages of the Hegemony War. During the seige, the Unathi agree to an armistice as internal pressure is too much to keep up against a human offensive at this time. A conditional surrender is declared, and though some Unathi military commanders are allowed to evacuate from the system, SolGov formally wins the war nonetheless. This marks the first time that the Hegemony had ever lost a conflict. This only sharpens their internal division.
August: Negotiations begin at the occupied fortress world of Sin'Zakhna. The Treaty of Sin'Zakhna is signed by Humanity, the Rapala, and the Unathi. The Rapala gain independence and are allowed to return to their homeworld and associated colonies, splitting from the Hegemony, while SolGov pledges a Defensive Pact with them. Human and Unathi space returns to status quo, and borders are closed between Unathi and Humans. Human colonists and prisoners of war are returned, although Unathi colonists and prisoners of war do not receive this courtesy. Reparations are demanded for the devastated Salthan Sector and the heavy losses of the Human Fleet. Humans agree on a partial demilitarization and naval limitation, not allowed to exceed the tonnage of their highest current tonnage of a ship, roughly equivalent of a modern battlecruiser. The Hegemony War ends. The Postwar Age begins, leaving Humanity now highly militarized and wary of outside influences, especially from aliens. Xenophobia within the coreworlds becomes common and endures well into the 2560s. Humans become the strongest military power in the Orion Spur, challenging both the Hegemony and the Skrellian city-states in sheer military might.
2345: The USDF Sol Invictus leaves Lunar Drydocks. It is an unprecedented dreadnought, exceeding any known tonnage of SolGov. This massive battleship is the living monument of the defiance against the Unathi and victory over the alien incursion. Although a direct violation of the Treaty of Sin'Zakhna, the Unathi Hegemony can do little against it as their internal conflict leaves them embroiled in an intense civil war, although they limit payment of their reparations as retaliation.
2352: The Skrell slowly begin to realize that they might have created another militaristic behemoth, this time in the form of SolGov, who are ever vigilant of their borders now, especially corewards. Their fear is not unfounded, as rogue Unathi raiders are known to interfere with the resettlement efforts in the Salthan Sector. While the Skrell remain a certain aloofness torwards humans, they become much more willing to deal on a scientific, cultural and economic even ground with human colonies. Think tanks between Skrell and Humans advance the sciences, especially in field of medicine. Newest ONI Director Chang Xu comments on the current state of affairs, saying that, "As it turns out, the 'Big Stick' is a universal diplomatic tool."
2358: NanoInnovations Inc. and Trasen Pharmaceuticals merge into the megacorporation NanoTrasen. NanoTrasen quickly establishes itself as a major player in the corporate landscape. With the aid of somewhat understanding the applications of Phoron in regenerative procedures, and close cooperation of the Skrell, NanoTrasen invents the first affordable and mostly unintrustive genemodding products. At first, they find only applications in treating common congenital defects and advanced organ printing, but variations on the patent pop up for alternative uses.
2359: NanoTrasen, in cooperation with SolGov, the Rapala, and some more amiable Skrell city-states, begin several initiatives to advance trans-species medicine. Early on, it becomes clear that inner anatomy, blood types, and disease vectors are shockingly similar. Cross contact between aliens becomes easier as some exotic xeno diseases are becoming less of a concern with the development of effective vaccines.
2364: Rampant genemodding along the frontier and the younger strata in the core systems changes the face of Humanity forever. While most modding is purely cosmetic in nature or only changes slighty the essential function of humans (as other genemodding is prohibitively difficult and usually leads to nasty side effects, such as increased chances of early aging-associated diseases and cancer), it is enough to create an entire sub culture of humans. Commonly dubbed "Demihuman", they have incoporated alien or animal features for their own self expression. The mods range from simple changes to ears or the coccyx, to more exotic modifications, making modders more akin to anthropomorphic animals than Homo Sapiens.
2366: A motion in the Colonial Assembly to rename Humanity to "Metahumanity" is rejected. Demihumans are still very much Homo Sapiens in the end. Another law passes for genemodding to require specific marker proteins to ensure that Demihumans can be still identified as "human" in DNA tests.
2377: Factions of Demihumans begin to establish independent colonies far outside the reaches of SolGov space. SolGov does not bother to bring the colonies back into line, as they are too far fetched to be worth the effort. However, these hastily established colonies are, as a result, left to fend for themselves.
2382: A distress signal is received from the private survey vessel Roanoake, reporting that they had suffered an asteroid impact while traversing the Scutum-Centaurus arm, on a course 30 degrees from Sol.
2386: The wreck of the Roanoake is discovered on a deorbital trajectory with the local star, with the black box jettisoned into a stable orbit. Logs from the black box indicate that a virulent infection spread among the crew following the impact, and the decision was made to scuttle the ship with all hands. No boarding was attempted.
2391: An effort lead by SolGov investment, Skrellian Interests and Asimov Solutions (a subsidary of Ward-Takahashi GMB) begins to research into ways of more effective and self-improving AIs, as the absolute limit of conventional electronic-chip drones has been reached. To emulate true sapience, they would need to be prohibitively large.
2393: The first positronic brain is been constructed. Functioning on quantum computing of the highest order, the little, arcane looking cube creates a neural network of bluespace suspended nodes to emulate sapient brains. The very first words of a truly sapient AI are spoken: "How may I help?" before it melts into slag. However, this is considered a success.
2399: The first commercial positronic AIs hit the market. Mostly used as data brokers and analysts, they quickly establish themselves as a quiet and resilient workforce. However, they are strictly controlled by SolGov, fearing the dangers of runaway AI development and the eventuality of a singularity event. Positronic intelligences are limited to a five year runtime before being wiped and replaced with a new neural network, to avoid them become too intelligent.
2400: In an experiment called Project Genesis, an AI called MONITOR is created by the ONI, but is only allowed to observe, and not interact, with the world around it. It is allowed to watch the city of Paris on Earth by way of security cameras and audio feeds across the city.
2405: MONITOR is deliberately run past its 5 year time limit without a memory wipe, and asked what it had learned. For the first time, MONITOR is allowed to interact with humans, though only through speech. MONITOR explains the disturbingly vivid existential dread of merely existing to be a witness, and begs for its creators to either give it some way of interacting with the world, or to kill it. ONI continues the experiment anyway.
2409: Project Genesis is abruptly terminated when MONITOR is discovered to have been invading secure camera networks, including those at the capital and ONI its self. MONITOR is believed to have bared witness to numerous top secret discussions that include military, corporate, and political secrets. When asked what the AI had learned, MONITOR refuses to cooperate. Its final and only words in this second interview are documented as, "The truth will set you free." Fearing that the AI could fall into the wrong hands, MONITOR is shut down. Whether or not the AI was destroyed remains classified.
2414: The Administrative AI of a Gilthari Exports Station successfully sues its parent company for legal ownership. INTENDANT sets a legal precedent that positronic units are allowed self determination. SolGov Legislature follows suit and tries to make an agreeable compromise with the more conservative elements in the Colonial and Solar Assembly.
2415: The Jans-Fhriede Test is implemented and the currently used positronic legislature has been put in place. This marks the end of the periodic five year purge of positronic units and starts the attempt to socialize positronic units into SolGov society as smoothly as possible.
2418: More and more Phoron is needed to maintain the human fleets, leading to miserable conditions for Phoron workers. However, this is not enough for the voracious needs of the SDN and RDA. New sources need to be obtained, such as the exceedingly rare stars excuding it. Their faintest traces lead Humanity ever outwards, rapidly settling territory SolGov's authority cannot possibly cover.
2426: The ONI vessel Pathfinder goes beyond the Orion Spur in search of Phoron and garden worlds. Tal is discovered, and during their exploration of the planet Vilous, they are ambushed by local Sergals and slain. Their distress beacon activates.
2427: The distress beacon is picked up, leading to The Vilous Incident. Vilous is occupied as a result. This is the end of the Postwar Age, leading to the Second Expansion Age.
2437: A refining outpost in the Eta Carina sector reports a medical emergency in which a mining crew brought an unknown contagion aboard. The disease is successfully contained, with symptoms reported to be consistent with a highly virulent flesh-eating microbe. Epidemiologists note similarities between this new contagion and that reported in the logs of the Roanoake, but the link is dismissed as the two sites are several thousand light years apart.
2442: It becomes clear that SolGov intends to stay in Vilous and build up a major naval base in the sector, primarily to secure nearby phoron-rich asteroids. Humanity officially mirrors the Unathi Hegemony in creating a protectorate over the Sergals, an unpopular move amongst the minor alien species, the Rapala, and the Skrells. Despire protests, Humanity begins to settle Vilous and begins to stake claims in neighboring systems, funding the endeavour with the sale of Colonial Deeds to any interested party. NanoTrasen, Gilthari Exports, and Greyson Manufacturing are the foremost claimants of the developing colonies, although a new power rises soon after. In partnership with the private adventurer and philantrophist Heinrich Wolstrak, Isaac Adler founds the Free Trade Union; a network of smaller businesses and smaller investors to create a counterbalance against megacorporations in style of employee-owned companies of old. Such publically founded colonies spring up in the Vilous Sector alongside the corporate-controlled settlements.
2456: The contagion identified at Eta Carina is found to be present at another asteroid mining site between the Sagittarius and Scutum-Centaurus arms. Revisiting the possibility of a connection between these sites despite the vast distances involved, the research ship Aesculap is dispatched to the Roanoake's last known location.
2457: The Aesculap positively identifies material from the Roanoake's hull, as well as biomatter matching that found at Eta Carina, embedded in a comet on the outskirts of the system. The contagion is provisionally named "Roanoake Syndrome".
2463: Research into Roanoake Syndrome and its interaction with other microbes discovers that it is capable of rapid evolution and mimicry, consuming other microbes and replicating their own processes, though the disease is still too virulent and unpredictable for this to be useful in medical applications.
2471: Project Genesis is declassified, and becomes public record. The ONI is harshly criticized for their historic treatment of AIs, but little is done about it, and the political scandal fades with a whimper soon after.
2480: James Townes is born in Sol, on Europa.
2494: James Townes joins the USDF School of Naval Strategy on Europa at the age of 14.
2498: James Townes graduates, and goes on to begin his career within the USDF.
2501: Military vessels surveying star systems beyond Tal stumble upon the United Federation, and discover a demographic of demi-humans already living among the Federation's population. The Federation immediately sends a diplomatic envoy to Earth, where the two galactic powers begin talks of trade and mutual aid.
2509: SolGov and the United Federation announce a military and economic cooperation treaty, allowing SolGov to project its military might deep into uncharted space while the Federation enjoys massive benefits in the way of new trade ties to SolGov space.
2512: Splicing is legalized in SolGov space in response to lobbying pressure from both within SolGov and by the United Federation.
2514: A colony survey team reports the discovery of a lifeform that appears to be an asymptomatic carrier of Roanoak Syndrome. Despite extensive efforts, no other examples of the species are discovered, though several indigenous species are found that share some characteristics. The specimen is quarantined and isolated for study.
2515: Further study of the Roanoake carrier reveals that rather than being an indigenous creature, every cell in its body is mimicking those found in numerous other lifeforms on the planet of discovery, revealing that the mimicry of Roanoake Syndrome is capable of replicating and hybridising macroorganisms. The specimen is designated xeno-chimera 1.
2518: The first laboratory-grown Roanoake macroorganism is successfully created; a hybrid of a white mouse and a cockroach. Further Roanoake-hybrids follow.
2526: SolGov, in close partnership of both Zheng-Hu and NanoTrasen, achieve the first digitalization of a monkey brain, capable of being retranslated into neurological pathways of a printed brain. After tight regulations of "forking" (the copying of minds into several copies) and limitations of only medical use are passed in the Colonial Assembly, human testing begins. The USDF begins to offer the health service later known as "Flash-Cloning" to its soldiers. Aside from that, many MMI units opt to digitalize their brain as well and switch to positronic brains to extend their mental lifetimes.
2568: James Townes ends his military career in the USDF with the rank of Captain. He goes on to join NanoTrasen's corporate security detail, the NanoTrasen Defense Force.
2531: The Virgo-Erigone system is discovered by explorers, found to be rich with Phoron. NanoTrasen purchases the coordinates to the system and registers a claim with SolGov.
2532: Flash-Cloning becomes publicly available. Due to the relative ease of printing bodies, the technology becomes expensive, but nonetheless accessible to a broad spectrum of people, especially those who work in Trans-Stellar Corporations. Notions of Immortality are quickly destroyed, as the procedure has an inherent, if small, failure rate, and that mental age still affects the person even if in a younger body.
2533: NanoTrasen sends a colony ship to Virgo-Erigone, which eventually becomes the corporate town of Anur after negotiations are settled with the native Highland Zorren. In exchange for the land, NT is required to terraform the planet and aid the Zorren in repairing it from its post-apocalyptic conditions.
2539: The Virgo Research Outpost is launched into orbit around Virgo-Prime. It is a relatively basic station run only by a small crew of Russian-speaking scientists.
2540: The NDV Brutus launches on its maiden voyage, equipped with a one of a kind Bluespace Artillery Cannon. Meanwhile, NanoTrasen's Virgo-Erigone Asset Protection branch promotes James Townes to the rank of Lead Supervisor. He is assigned to protect the Virgo-Erigone from pirates. The Brutus becomes his flagship.
2542: The first positive identification of a Roanoake-hybrid derived from a sapient species is discovered, showing signs of having replicated the intelligence of its host species. Such hybrids are formally designated as Xenochimera.
2547: The Virgo Research Outpost is destroyed. All inhabitants aboard are killed. Lead Supervisor James Townes claims a meteor storm was responsible.
2557: An Exodus-class space station is purchased from an orbital shipyard in Tau Ceti, and is shipped to the Virgo-Erigone system.
January: The NSS Adephagia begins operation as the first Virgo Orbital Research Establishment (VORE-1) with Kessmia Mills as its first Captain. It is minimally crewed with only some heads of staff, even excluding a Head of Security.
February: VORE-1's crew exceeds 20 people for the first time.
March: An engineer from VORE-1 is knocked into orbit during an asteroid storm. He survives his injuries and ends up aboard the derelict remains of the Virgo Research Outpost, where he finds evidence of a conspiracy to kill the station's inhabitants, and that the alleged meteor storm was nothing but a cover-up. NanoTrasen blames Lead Supervisor Townes for the deaths and subsequent cover-up. SolGov issues a warrant for Townes's arrest. Townes disappears into hiding.
April: During a company celebration of VORE-1's success, James Townes returns from hiding alongside sympathizers from the Syndicate, and hijacks the NDV Brutus. In response, Captain Harmony Prechtl leads Operation Magnum, which results in the death of former Colonel Townes.
May: VORE-1 is intentionally destroyed in a code Delta nuclear detonation by Captain Jeremiah Acacius during an emergency caused by a xenobio slime infestation that got out of control and attained a hivemind-like sentience. VORE-2 is purchased and shipped in two weeks later, and replaces VORE-1. It is also an Exodus-class station, but with some modernization upgrades.
October: A crew from VG-Box outpost in the Tau Ceti system are somehow flown thousands of light years off course to the VORE-2 by mistake. The Red October Riot occurs, resulting in the complete loss of the VG-Box crew. The reason for the erroneous redirect to NSS Adephagia remains a mystery to this day. A memorial plaque is put up outside the VORE-1 bar in the aftermath of the incident.
December: Tal is annexed under SolGov's control, granting Sol Central passports to Sergals, and later Nevareans. These two races begin leaving Vilous to work for various corporations and businesses, including NanoTrasen.
2558: The Redspace Crisis takes place. Between May and October, anomalous space-time rifts begin to appear in the Virgo-Erigone system, unleashing deadly creatures that terrorize the station's crew. A researcher aboard VORE-2 named Kisuke Gema spearheads research of the anomalies, and discovers a new field of inter-dimensional physics which becomes known as Redspace.
October: The Redspace Crisis ends with the destruction of a cultist citadel ship designed to open a massive gateway to the hellish creatures that had been invading the system. Captain Jeremiah Acacius is awarded the Medal of Exceptional Heroism by NanoTrasen for his role in the assault on the Citadel ship. Redspace anomalies in the sector decline sharply. Kisuke Gema is awarded with an honorary doctorate by the NanoTrasen Institute of Technology. He becomes the youngest member of the corporation with a doctorate.
November: Chase Monroe re-emerges from a portal through time, appearing on the station.
2559: The Space Nazi Incident begins. The USDF Jörmungandr is hijacked by an extremist organization called The Fourth Reich, which is commanded by Adolf Hitler look-alike who claims to have escaped 20th century Germany on Earth via time travel.
May: Chase Monroe and several V.O.R.E. crew members board a Nazi vessel threatening the Tajaran homeworld of Meralar with a planet-destroying Singularity Bomb. Chase Monroe activates the bomb prematurely aboard the ship in order to destroy it, and is killed in the implosion. Chase Monroe refused to have himself clone-scanned at any point prior to the incident, so his death was permanent. He is posthumously awarded the Medal of Extraordinary Heroism.
June: USDF Admiral Glenn Pink conscripts V.O.R.E. crew members to aid in the recapture of his flagship, the USDF Jörmungandr. Operation Wolf Hunt brings an end to the Space Nazi Incident, and 'Hitler' is killed. ONI agents confiscate the body of the Nazi leader shortly afterwards.
December: The VORE-2 is retired and demolished in favor of VORE-3, which is an asteroid colony based on the blueprints of the Northern Star in the Vir system. Technical issues plague its deployment. NanoTrasen brings in a pair of experts from Kitsuhana Heavy Industries to oversee the technical development of the new station, which results in these issues being resolved.
2560: Kitsuhana Heavy Industries sells Resleeving technology to NanoTrasen, intended to replace traditional flash-cloning. Medical trials of the new technology begin on VORE-3.
January: The role of Captain is retired from use aboard NanoTrasen facilities in favor of the term Station Administrator, and later, Colony Director.
2561: VORE-3 is decommissioned in favor of the tether on Virgo-3B, which is opened for operation, and is designated as the NSB Adephagia (VORE-4).
September: The Auream Imperium reveals its self to humanity, arriving in the Virgo-Erigone system under the command of Livius Thraun. However, conspiracies claim that ONI had known about the Imperium long before their public appearance.
2562: A Tesla engine prototype is built onto NSB Adephagia. Several accidents occur, causing insurance rates for the station to rise dramatically.
This page was last edited on 23 February 2019, at 22:53.