Timeline of Humanity

While Human history is long and diverse, with multiple perspectives and a myriad of details that vary between accounts, here is a more succint summary of the more recent events in the history of mankind.

The Second Space Age

2125:: While Humanity has faced success in colonizing Mars and the Moon with their respective populations reaching the millions, Earth itself is facing its greatest economic crisis as resources begin to run out, yet the population has grown to reach 10 billion inhabitants.

The Discovery of Warp

2130:: Scientists in orbit discover Warp Technology, marking the start of the Interstellar Era. Within ten years, the technology is refined and installed on probes that will be sent out to map the stars surrounding Sol. The technology allows travel to other star systems within weeks, but the energy required to keep the warp engine running is massive.

The Founding of the Sol Alliance

2140:: The United Nations officially forms the Sol Alliance, which becomes the new government of humanity. It oversees Earth and the colonies in the solar system, effectively bringing all of humanity under one banner.

The Discovery of Biesel

2147:: Biesel is discovered in Tau Ceti by Sol Alliance probes, promising new resources for the desperate Earth. In orbit, colony ships are constructed as efforts begin to colonize this habitable world. With the trip expected to take months with current warp travel technology, it is considered a one-way trip for the colonists.

2152:: A second habitable world is discovered in the Epsilon Eridani system, bringing even more possibilities of expansion for humanity.

The First Trans-stellars

2155:: Habitable planets closest to Earth see their population steadily increase as colony ships make round trips between the settlements and Sol. Einstein Engines becomes the first Transstellar corporation, specializing in producing Warp engines and supplying colonists with affordable equipment to tame and exploit the new worlds they inhabit. Despite this growth, it's not yet possible for the Earth to see a true profit emerge from this. With the growing instability, Earth itself has age-old feuds break out on its surface while Einstein Engines continues to profit.

2166: Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals is founded by Zeng-Hu. It has patents on many new medicines and drugs distilled from the natural flora of the new colony worlds, as well as performing research in the power of cloning.

The New Galactic Economy

2200: The Martian Terraforming Project begins, transforming the barren surface into lush plains and having ancient riverbeds flow for the first time in millions of years. Mars sees a huge immigration boom, with former inhabitants of Earth craving the perceived freedom and prosperity available on this new frontier. With interstellar trade now becoming a huge market, the complexities of currency exchanges becomes more trouble than its worth. The Sol Alliance creates the Credit, a standardized currency that all of human space will use.

The Second Great Depression

2260: A massive recession strikes the Sol Alliance as the largest stock exchanges see a sudden collapse, effectively tanking the entire economy. The trans-stellar corporations nearly go bankrupt, and desperately use their influence to reap massive bail-outs.

2265: With no end of the "Great Depression" in sight, a desperate and bankrupt Earth establishes extortionary taxes on its colony worlds. This leads to anger, and questions over the credibility of the Sol Alliance's claim of representing all of humanity.

2275: Fighting breaks out in the outer colonies, spurred on by extremist elements and anti-Alliance sentiments. The Sol Alliance is slow to respond, paralyzed by confusion and uncertainty. As a result, other Colonies on the fringe begin to break away, forming the Coalition of Colonies.

The First Interstellar War

2278: The Coalition of Colonies is still not recognized by the Sol Alliance, and in anger the Coalition attacks Sol Alliance military forces who refused to leave systems that had seceded. The Coalition fleet is drastically smaller and less equipped than the Sol Alliance, but the massive size of their territory and the slow response times of Sol means they enjoy a very successful, defensive guerrilla war.

2286: Many Megacorporations profit from the war, selling arms to one or both sides, trading in dangerous systems and staking claims in otherwise dangerous locations. Despite all the chaos, humanities' population has risen to 22 billion people.

2287: The First Interstellar War is said to have ended on this date with a ceasefire between the Sol Alliance and the Coalition of Colonies. But despite the formal peace, skirmishes continue to break out, and the frontier remains lawless and untamed...

The New Capital of Humanity

2300: The administration of the Sol Alliance is moved to the newly constructed Unity City, a space station in Earth orbit. The new capital is intended to increase ease of access while also better reflecting the Alliance’s stated mission to represent all of humanity, not just any single nation or planet.

Formation of Nanotrasen

2346: Formation of Nanotrasen by Xavier Trasen. Initially specializes in advanced gene therapy. It eventually becomes a more broadened scientific company, rivaling Einstein Engines.

The Warp Gate Project

2355: The Warp Gate project begins with the goal of connecting humanity's most populated and profitable systems with permanent, mammoth structures that cut travel time to mere days. The work itself is contracted out to Einsten Engines, with the Sol Alliance shouldering most of the cost.

2384: The Warp Gate Project is completed. While Einstein Engines now enjoys the immense profits from controlling the most effective and commonly used method of intergalactic travel, the Sol Alliance is facing a new economic crisis as the project has put a heavy load on their coffers. Desperate and facing a new potential recession, the Sol Alliance grants major concessions to both trans-stellar corporations and its colony worlds over the next decade, effectively granting both factions independence in many areas.

2390: The Warp Gates bring an influx of wealth to the inner-colonies closest to them, but disrupt several established trade routes, leading to economic decline in several systems. The Sol Alliance, largely bankrupt from the Warp Gate project, is forced to grant independence to a number of border systems. These worlds quickly join the loosely organized Confederation of Colonies, or strike it out on their own.

The Rise of Nanotrasen

2400: Trans-stellars capitalize on immense profits from the past decades, diversifying to a great degree. Some begin swearing allegiances to these corporations, making them nations in their own rights that rule in the fringes of known space, while lobbying for even more benefits from the Sol Alliance. Their power is divided almost equally between Einstein Engines, Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals, and Hephaestus Industries.

2403: NanoTrasen acquires the mining rights to the Romanovich Cloud in the Tau Ceti system (an Inner-inner colony system).

First Contact

2413: First contact is made with the Skrell. Sends shockwaves throughout human space. Over the next few years, these two species come closer and begin to cooperate on developing new technology. The Sol Alliance, optimistic about this new alien race, creates an alliance with them while the trans-stellar corporations compete to reverse-engineer Skrellian technology for various fields.

2415: First contact is made with the Vox. This contact has remarkably less fanfare due to the fact the Vox immediately begin raiding and scamming human settlements.

Discovery of Plasma

2417: In the Romanovich Cloud in the outer edges of Tau Ceti, NT discovers the resource ‘plasma’. This element becomes an immensely efficient fuel source, effectively ending the growing energy crisis that humanity was facing, while further research quickly proved that it can make bluespace travel safe, efficient, and profitable. Plasma quickly becomes the prefered fuel and energy generating commodity. NT becomes excessively wealthy, using its exclusive patents on plasma refining and generation to become the single most powerful corporation in the known galaxy.

2420: Earth is made effectively self-sufficient, with plasma effectively ending its energy crisis. Now the stagnation reverses completely, and Earth is revitalized. Terraforming efforts are made, funded by the Sol Alliance, to bring quality of life to a world covered in urban sprawl and ruined eco-systems. Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals begins reintroducing previously extinct animals back into the wild, using clones created from the animal's genetic information.

The Age of Bluespace

2425: Bluespace Link gates begin to pop-up in the most developed systems across Human and Skrell space. The Alliance Sol Warp Gates are upgraded with Bluespace technology, greatly increasing their efficiency and giving Nanotrasen control of all travel throughout the Sol Alliance; dethroning Einstein Engines.

2450: Tau Ceti, a Sol Alliance system in the inner colonies, has Nanotrasen dominating nearly every facet of life. Sentiment is pro-Nanotrasen, with politicians praising the corporation's efforts to improve the local economy, while ignoring the many morally questionable actions that Nanotrasen has taken.

The Lawless Frontier

2452: The Coalition of Colonies suddenly dissolves over a disagreement on the Coalition's relationship with trans-stellar corporations, with claims of many outer colonies being corporate police states rather than true colonies. The frontier of human space become a lawless expanse with pirates and mega-corporations becoming the new law of the lands. It becomes very much a "Wild West" in space.

Present Day

2458: Current Date. NT is an economic powerhouse which the Sol Alliance relies on for plasma to keep its trade routes to the outer colonies alive and satisfy the energy needs of its largest colonies. Anti-NT sentiment grows in Tau Ceti, but many others continue to support the megacorporation keeping the gears of the (human) galactic economy going.

However, the Syndicate continues to position itself to strike back against the NT on a larger scale; and many more exotic, fantastical elements of the universe such as the Vox, undiscovered alien life, extremists, even ancient powers beyond comprehension may be moving to strike at arguably the most powerful organization in human space.