Wednesday Knights Blog

Earth

In 2036 the global war on terror came to a head with the executions of many high-profile terrorists. At this point there was enough anti-American sentiment throughout the world to unite numerous countries in a new war – an economic war against the U.S. Numerous tactics were used against the United States: increased tarriffs, boycotting U.S. products, refusing to sell to Americans, even OPEC started selling its oil in Euros. China, North Korea, Russia, France, most of the middle east and several African, South American and Central American countries together destroyed the American economy. Troubles quickly grew in the U.S.A. So the U.S. government responded in kind to this non-violent war. U.S. citizens living outside of the country were encouraged to come home. Foreign aid of all kinds was suspended by the government and foreign military bases were closed. The United States spent all of its’ might dealing with the worst economic depression ever to hit the country. Without the aid of the most powerful country on the planet other countries soon had problems of their own. Smaller wars soon broke out around the globe. This caused militant groups, terrorist organizations and religious factions to take their chances at the grab for power. Slowly, countries across the globe started to go into military and financial ruin.

By 2092 the fate of the U.S. economy spread to the rest of the planet as one by one governments fell. During this time there were great advances in battlefield technology. Fusion energy became readily available. Scientific feats were achieved in space travel and exploration.

In 2147 war with the Fraal waged.

In 2155 The United States, the last surviving country on the planet, rediscovered the Psion project and combined it with a new tech……..artificial DNA. The generation of psions did what was thought impossible. They saved the Earth. Slowly, locales were brought back into current use but the U.S. Government insisted that the whole planet, for the good of humanity, come together under one government…….The U.N. This of course is the new name of the U.S. Government. In order to become a citizen of this country you must agree to live by certain new laws. These include Dermachip implants, a ban on all religions, and strict social behavior rules.

In 2190 the U.N. discovers “Orbo”. This is the energy inside a psion that gives him his ability. It is discovered that the Fraal are actually affected by this type of energy.

The year 2192 brought about a new technology to replace artificial DNA: Mutagenic Compounds. This life-altering virus was originally designed to help the psions in their fight against the Fraal but was soon available to the public sector at a much higher cost.

In late 2196 the Earth made contact with two new alien species. The Vrusk, who recently signed a treaty with the Fraal Majority (the citizens’ party) for help in their war with the humans, and the T’sa, the small, technologically advanced race.

In 2203 a disease was released upon the Earth by the Fraal. Simply called “The Plague”, this disease changes the physiological composition of the host and destroys their grasp of reality. Also, Human technology (with “unofficial” help from the T’sa) led to the first, successful Gravity Wave Drive. The U.N. will make wide use of portable GWD’s on the battlefield within two years.

By 2205 the Fraal had developed a weapon that could cause massive tectonic instability within a certain area. This weapon was tested on the Hawaiian islands and collapsed them all into the ocean. The OTIS (Orbiting Tectonic Instability System) was then fired upon the lower Illinois region and created the world’s largest volcanic region. This massive hole in the crust vents off such large amounts of pressure that world-wide earthquake activity has dropped 64% since its’ creation. As the OTIS was being positioned for its’ next shot the UN military breached Fraal defense forces and destroyed the OTIS.

In 2210 as a last-ditch attempt to win by both sides, atomic weapons were unleashed. The overwhelming nuclear energy roaming the planet makes life difficult outside Sanctioned Zones. Strong doses of a new radioactive material used by the Fraal are known to mutate DNA. The benefits can be useful but come with drawbacks.

In 2212 the Earth finds out its’ human front on the Fraal homeworld, Proxima Major, has been broken and is being systematically destroyed.

In 2213 the U.N. made their official treaty with the T’sa and announced to the public of the existence of these two new alien species. The treaty gives sole authority to the T’sa for terraforming the Earth back to life. In exchange for this financially profitable offer the T’sa put their entire planet into debt. They used a god-sized portion of energy to teleport the planetoid Varuna into orbit around the Earth. They are finished terraforming Varuna and are now working on Luna.

It is now 2214. Due to loss of life and resources, the Tech War has stalled. The Fraal homeworld, Proxima Major, or Ersetu as they call it, has been laid to waste just as much as the Earth. Survivors from both sides exist and battle on both worlds.

Varuna

This dwarf planet was once in orbit around Sol. While in its’ 283 Earth-year orbit past the boundaries of Pluto in the Kuiper Belt, it consisted of numerous frozen liquids and volcanic rock. Its’ surface gravity was 1/8 that of the Earth and it had a surface temperature of roughly 43 Kelvin. Varuna had a rotational period of six and one half hours. That was before the T’sa got their greedy little claws on it. Now the fate of the dwarf planet is somewhat different.

Varuna is now in orbit around the Earth. Here are the major changes: the 6 1/2 hour rotation has been sped up to 6 hours; material was added to the core during teleportation to increase the gravity to 1/2 that of the Earth; it orbits in direct opposition of the moon at twice the moons’ distance; the surface now consists of rivers, lava soil for the thriving plants to grow, and a lake all with animal species being introduced yearly. The T’sa government absolutely refuses to discuss any information about either terraforming or teleportation with any other race, including humans. They have no “official” part in the war and they don’t want their technology used in it.

This new neighbor of the Earth is not in exact orbit opposite the moon. Varuna is actually in orbit directly around the equator. It simply stays on the opposite side of the Earth from the moon. This did have a small impact on the tides. They are roughly 15 percent smaller than they used to be. Varuna is now a warm, tropical moon. It was chosen over Ixion and Orcus to be teleported here because of it’s ideal composition. The fact that it rhymes with Luna was purely circumstantial. It was then stocked with plant and animal life that was genetically altered to adapt to the planetary conditions. These life forms come from Earth and those supplied by the T’sa from elsewhere.

Luna

The terraforming of Luna is coming along faster than planned. The soft layer of topsoil was apparently mort nutrient-rich than previously thought. The tests showed a much lower level of acceptance for the new plants. The life forms being introduced to Luna are genetically engineered to survive without an atmosphere but at the same time adapting to the atmosphere being put into place as well. Both plant and animal life have been created but the animal success rate is lagging behind expected goals. Even with this setback, evidence of terraforming is evident from Earth.