Post by Angel on Jul 31, 2009 12:40:09 GMT -8
Exodus is staged in a place far removed--by distance, time, or both--from our solar system. Humans have spread throughout the galaxy (a galaxy that, if it is the Milky Way, has long since lost that name), colonizing vastly different planets. Some are little more than rocky moons orbiting gas giants, while others are lush, tropical havens.
While the sprawling growth of humanity across dozens and dozens of planetary bodies has diluted some timeless conflicts over land and territory, other tensions have hardly lessened. The United Interplanetary Republic (UIR), a coalition of many different plants, including the most powerful Core planets, was formed roughly 60 years ago. The goal of the UIR was to bring peace to the disputes that often arose between neighboring colonies.
Overall, the UIR has been tremendously successful. While unruly sentiment toward the Republic has risen over the past decade, for the most part, the UIR has succeeded in achieving interplanetary peace. They usually opt for diplomatic and economic methods of coercion, though over the past few years their tendency to rely on militaristic strength has increased.
At the heart of the UIR lie the Core planets. This handful of planets represents some of the most stable, wealthy, and influential governments. Over all, the standard of living for citizens of these worlds is very high. They can be heavily policed and somewhat autocratic at times (increasingly so as the UIR gains more and more might), but overall, they are the best places to live in the known galaxy. Many of the complaints about the United Interplanetary Republic is that the Core planets receive too many UIR resources and hog the attention of interplanetary nonprofit organizations, even when conditions in Mid-Ring and Outer-Ring planets are exceptionally dire.
The prize of humanity, the most celebrated of all the Core planets, is Earth. Named after the planet that many ancient religious texts say humans originally emigrated from, Earth is a haven for refugees, political prisoners, and wanderers of all types. Considered the Mecca of all human history and policy, aliens frequently station their ambassadors to humanity in Earth's cities. Even the UIR respects Earth's autonomy. Politicians across the galaxy frequently campaign on making their local, or not-so-local governments more "Earth-like."
While Earth may be a bastion of peace and refinement, and UIR's reach may be long, there are many places where corruption still festers. Human trafficking is a thriving business, assassinations are increasingly popular even among Mid-Ring planets, and many smaller colony governments are little more than military dictatorships. While the UIR does try to confront these problems, it is stretched thin, and its policies are often too focused on harshly eliminating the symptoms of a problem, rather than the causes. Where almost no family on a Core planet goes hungry, poverty and starvation is not at all uncommon in other places. The human condition is linked to capitalism at its finest and at its worst: the betterment of living conditions for many people is often built on the backs of exploited groups.
The UIR itself is not innocent of corruption, and even at its best, it is still horribly inefficient in many regions of space. Quite a few Outer-Ring planetary governments, as well as some more notorious Mid-Ring planetary governments, have made routines of thwarting the UIR's decrees. Though the UIR does its best not to publicly acknowledge the demands of these governments (particularly the demands for complete sovereignty), tensions have come to a head. A civil war, of some sort, has begun to loom in the minds of many individuals.
In addition to the internal forces slowly eroding the UIR's tenuous peace, contact with other intelligent, sentient life-forms has been on the rise. While most aliens have been non-hostile, the constant push of humanity to new planets and systems has caused numerous, often deadly, conflicts. The only thing more devastating that a war amongst humans might be a war against aliens, and though the UIR does its best to smooth over confrontations, it has little actual control over many of the companies who send out colonies to unknown locations in search of resources.
Then, on a day that was like any other for most individuals in the galaxy, hell broke loose. The reports vary about who started the conflict: the UIR, rebel governments, aliens, androids, and so on. But one thing was sure.
Earth, the entire planet, humanity's ideal, was gone.
While the sprawling growth of humanity across dozens and dozens of planetary bodies has diluted some timeless conflicts over land and territory, other tensions have hardly lessened. The United Interplanetary Republic (UIR), a coalition of many different plants, including the most powerful Core planets, was formed roughly 60 years ago. The goal of the UIR was to bring peace to the disputes that often arose between neighboring colonies.
Overall, the UIR has been tremendously successful. While unruly sentiment toward the Republic has risen over the past decade, for the most part, the UIR has succeeded in achieving interplanetary peace. They usually opt for diplomatic and economic methods of coercion, though over the past few years their tendency to rely on militaristic strength has increased.
At the heart of the UIR lie the Core planets. This handful of planets represents some of the most stable, wealthy, and influential governments. Over all, the standard of living for citizens of these worlds is very high. They can be heavily policed and somewhat autocratic at times (increasingly so as the UIR gains more and more might), but overall, they are the best places to live in the known galaxy. Many of the complaints about the United Interplanetary Republic is that the Core planets receive too many UIR resources and hog the attention of interplanetary nonprofit organizations, even when conditions in Mid-Ring and Outer-Ring planets are exceptionally dire.
The prize of humanity, the most celebrated of all the Core planets, is Earth. Named after the planet that many ancient religious texts say humans originally emigrated from, Earth is a haven for refugees, political prisoners, and wanderers of all types. Considered the Mecca of all human history and policy, aliens frequently station their ambassadors to humanity in Earth's cities. Even the UIR respects Earth's autonomy. Politicians across the galaxy frequently campaign on making their local, or not-so-local governments more "Earth-like."
While Earth may be a bastion of peace and refinement, and UIR's reach may be long, there are many places where corruption still festers. Human trafficking is a thriving business, assassinations are increasingly popular even among Mid-Ring planets, and many smaller colony governments are little more than military dictatorships. While the UIR does try to confront these problems, it is stretched thin, and its policies are often too focused on harshly eliminating the symptoms of a problem, rather than the causes. Where almost no family on a Core planet goes hungry, poverty and starvation is not at all uncommon in other places. The human condition is linked to capitalism at its finest and at its worst: the betterment of living conditions for many people is often built on the backs of exploited groups.
The UIR itself is not innocent of corruption, and even at its best, it is still horribly inefficient in many regions of space. Quite a few Outer-Ring planetary governments, as well as some more notorious Mid-Ring planetary governments, have made routines of thwarting the UIR's decrees. Though the UIR does its best not to publicly acknowledge the demands of these governments (particularly the demands for complete sovereignty), tensions have come to a head. A civil war, of some sort, has begun to loom in the minds of many individuals.
In addition to the internal forces slowly eroding the UIR's tenuous peace, contact with other intelligent, sentient life-forms has been on the rise. While most aliens have been non-hostile, the constant push of humanity to new planets and systems has caused numerous, often deadly, conflicts. The only thing more devastating that a war amongst humans might be a war against aliens, and though the UIR does its best to smooth over confrontations, it has little actual control over many of the companies who send out colonies to unknown locations in search of resources.
Then, on a day that was like any other for most individuals in the galaxy, hell broke loose. The reports vary about who started the conflict: the UIR, rebel governments, aliens, androids, and so on. But one thing was sure.
Earth, the entire planet, humanity's ideal, was gone.