Jan. 16th, 2018 at 2:36 PM
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introduction
This section describes the world of 2268 and includes a brief history of the world from 2017 to then. This is merely a work of fiction (and even optimism in some ways), and players are encouraged to contribute to the world building of this game. They may comment to this entry with questions or suggestions to technology, history, and so on as a way to make this a rich landscape to explore and create stories in.Many of the ideas here have been adopted from other works of science fiction. This game does not claim any sort of copyright over those ideas. In addition, players who contribute and then leave the game accept that whatever world building they offer and has been made game canon will not be taken out of the game. The only time it may be removed is if the mods feel it appropriate. We are aware of anachronisms that may exist, but have chosen to run with this instead to help build this game's lore and less Wikipedia searching. The early twenty-first century was a continuation of the political and social unrest that plagued the planet already. Only now it culminated into something much bigger. The advent of social media added fuel to a fire of a train heading toward a cliff. Everyone had a voice and truth became relative. People used filters to isolate themselves from larger problems, and warnings from objective thinkers went ignored. It happened so quickly that historians in 2268 still argue over what served as the linchpin. But great powers saw themselves battling their own people, who turned to extremism after deciding that playing by the rules wouldn't get the job done. The first of these old world powers to collapse was the United States but others fell like domino in succession. Military coups and religious organizations attempted to keep control, but they were a people of anger desiring something new. War broke out all over the world in 2040, kicking off what would be known as World War III. Alliances were formed and then broken as each new government trying to maintain order gave way. Their eyes were too big and they sought to control all immediately, but it was three smaller groups that eventually took control and slowly but surely absorbed their divided enemies until. These massive empires took over most of the known world and met in 2142 to establish boundaries, negotiate trade, and solidify peace. It was time to stop fighting and start handling problems that threatened all of humanity. The three empires identified themselves as
The Eurasian Union came from settling an old conflict between most of Western Europe and Russia. The two battled incessantly against each other with no clear winner, and eventually they settled on a parliamentary monarchy, mimicking that of old Great Britain. Their land covered all of Europe extending across Russia and adopting what is formerly known as China, the Koreas, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, and New Zealand. Their new capital is located in a cleared area at the western start of the Yangtze River called New Roma. The Neo-Persian Empire was the last to form but has proven to be the most stable. Religious extremism plagued the area it now possesses, but the second coming of a new Muhammad appears to be at the center of its peaceful resolution. Whether or not this Muhammad was real or not, scholars argue about still, but his charismatic nature and reconstruction of Islamic beliefs gave something many clung to for hope. Many arguments between traditionalists were their primary opposition, but eventually peace and religious devotion overcame. Their messages spread from Mecca into the entirety of Africa and then east into India, Vietnam, and others. Their military power was uncanny, likely due to the devout nature of the soldiers who refused to raid and pillage as many thought they might. More so, they are the only of the three empires to observe religion and encourage the practice of religion in its people. Not just in Islam but of any that promote peace and fairness. Their capital is in Mecca, which remains a point not only of religious importance, but now political too. Once the Treaty of Bermuda was signed, the empires focused hard on resolving internal issues, allowing for innovation and growth in something other than military power for over 100 years. By this time, the world's population had grown but also shrunk due to war and disease. The current world population is 7.1 billion. Economies have also stabilized and most markets are capitalistic in terms of competition but also regulated to protect workers, prevent monopolies, and over or under-saturation. The rising political strife that broke into conflict mirrored a war existing between naturalists and scientists. Could science really be trusted? Why would anyone trust a bunch of herbs over medicine? These questions were quickly overshadowed and set aside. The revolving door governments would later use the growing problem of disease and a lack of cures as platform for rhetoric but never had long enough time in control to do anything about it. That is until the latter part of World War III, when it became imperative for compromise and solutions as opposed to conflict. Getting to a compromise became something the separate empires started by trying to handle themselves. Time and effort went into labs, biologists and chemists and even naturalists brought in to discuss solutions. Finding the compromise was hard, especially in those how had strong religious convictions. It was time to start accepting that science and religion were not battling each other, one scientist argued, and for the most part, many agreed. There were those who stood on both sides, arguing that the religious held back the advancement of humanity and others said that science tried too hard to prove there was no god. Eventually they had to set aside these thoughts, especially as the latest plague seemed to target children in particular. The cure for the "child killing" disease came as an effort between scientists from all three empires. It was called a miracle. Some scientists claimed religious enlightenment for their part and others said it was humanity finally understanding the human body. The result was clear though. Humanity had found a cure to a disease believed uncureable. Now this kicked open the door to seek solutions for the diseases that long plagued humanity long before. From here the advancement of medicine made leaps and bounds and previous steps forward in centuries past looked like baby steps. Cures for diseases like Diabetes and HIV/AIDS became more than just a dream; they became a reality. The war on cancer became a winning battle. Humanity began living longer and even able to bear children into later years. Now humans have an anticipated life expectancy of an average of 140 years. Religion placed a major part of humanity's thinking and moral system for thousands of years, and many blamed it for conflict in the world. It isn't so black and white though, and while religion played a role, it wasn't the only contributing factor. Religion still plays a role in 2268, but not in the same way as it had. Theocracies perished just as quickly as their counterparts, and it became clear that a government based entirely upon religious belief or the lack of religious beliefs wouldn't work. While it would be nice to say that disease and conflict rid the world of religious extremism, that would mean rejoicing over the loss of life. However, many of the extremists would end up dying either in war or of diseases. Their polarizing beliefs painted them into corners with no way out. Extremism exists in 2268, but on a much smaller scale and those radicals are outliers with no political weight or power. Moderation appears to have taken the central role, and for the most part has served each empire well. Even the more religious of the planet cling to this balance, and they fear, if anything, slipping too far to one side or the other. The most common core groups of religious or non religious include the following in no particular order
The average travel time between the earth and other celestial spheres dwarfed exponentially. What used to take days, even almost a year, now takes a matter of hours to days. The early days of space travel were expensive, but they became less so and now a ticket to the Moon is the equivalent of a plane ticket from New York to London in 2017 (~$500 round trip). When humanity began using android parts to sustain themselves, the question as to whether androids had rights or not was more a far-off argument than something to worry about. However, when the term "bionic" became used for those almost more machine than human, androids began to ask these questions. For the most part, governments have managed to fend off any legislature or decisions that would grant civil rights to androids, but at the same time, there are groups, not just composed of androids, seeking equality. Otherwise, humanity itself has managed to set aside its bigoted past in favor of equality and fairness. Old notions used by religious have been discarded (save for a few extremists, who are shunned from common society). Sexuality, skin color, and even gender are no longer subjects of debates in parliaments or senates. | |