Pre-Update 5
2116-2125 CE
Sol
Following previous trends, the peaceful competition in Sol became both more intense and more profittable for all involved. While Europe and China continued to focus on distant systems to gain a future advantage, America and Russia, for the most part, concentrated their energies in their home system.
On Earth itself, developments on the worldwide system of space elevators, skyhooks, and orbital rings continued with great success. Russia, especially, capitalized on their unique position in the development to make deals with several more minor nations, allowing them to access space. This gave Russia an industrial leverage greatly out of proportion to its internal infrastructure, and allowed it to compete with the United States in solar system development.
Russia also purchased the Chinese colony on Mercury, and set about putting it to more thorough use than the Chinese had done. Minerals and solar energy from Mercury supplemented Russian efforts elsewhere in the system.
Further out, the development of Orion boosters made asteroid mining and retrieval more economically feasible. Russia had a notable head start here, but America's considerable industrial might and powerful corporations minimized that advantage. Interplanetary business underwent a boom as minerals and water were in high demand, and transporting them from Earth, even with its space elevators, wasn't always the most efficient option. Additionally, Russia began to use some of those asteroids in an ambitious project to terraform Venus. By introducing high amounts of water ice and hydrogen into Venus's atmosphere by way of massive impacts, the air there could be thinned and chemically altered on a large scale to make it somewhat livable.
It was still expected to take longer than Mars's terraforming project, however. The American colony on Mars grew even larger due to the boom in interplanetary business, and it acted as both a waypoint and final destination for asteroid and gas miners throughout the solar system.
Even further from Sol, economic battles between American and Russian corporations were waged over the abundant resources of the gas giants. American facilities around Jupiter and Saturn had already begun to explore mining for valuable gases, and further colonization of Uranus and Neptune was also being launched. However, around the same time, Russia also began launching a concentrated effort to monopolize the outer solar system with its more advanced spacecraft.
The end result was that neither America nor Russia collected the great profits that might have been expected from sole ownership of the gas giants, but everyone benefitted from the competetive influx of resources, and both America and Russia were well set up to begin making more colonization efforts outside the solar system.
Infinitas
In contrast to the peaceful competition around Sol, the atmosphere in Infinitas was rapidly deteriorating into a revolutionary sentiment. On Bacchus, an increasingly significant portion of the European population was demanding independence. As the population became ever more unruly, the governor of Bacchus was forced to act.
And act he did, in 2117. In an alliance with a large portion of the European military on Bacchus, and with popular support, the colonial government of Bacchus pulled off a virtually bloodless coup d'etat, wresting control of the planet from the European Union. Though one of the two orbitting destroyers remained loyal to Europe, it was persuaded to surrender after Bacchus performed some tense diplomacy with the EU itself.
Indeed, the terms with which Bacchus offered its independence were quite friendly to the European Union. Though the new Planetary Republic of Bacchus demanded that it retain complete control of its government and economy, and that all troops loyal to the European Union be sent back to Europe or one of its colonies, it still offered the European Union free access to Bacchus's Stigma Skimmer, and expressed a desire to retain friendly relations with its parent nation.
Ultimately, the European Union accepted those terms, as a bloody war to retain a rebellious colony held little appeal to the peaceful union. The tax revenues from Bacchus were not badly missed, and the Europeans' colonization elsewhere was hardly impacted at all. In retrospect, the declaration of Bacchus's independence was looked upon as a great achievement of two civilized peoples, though some lingering resentment remained among the Europeans.
As a side note, Bacchus's stance towards the People's Republic of China was less friendly. As soon as its independence was assured, Bacchus demanded that all Chinese there either join the new republic or go back to Chinese controlled Volturnus. A surprising number of them stayed as citizens of Bacchus, but after some initial grumbling, China eventually let its loyal citizens be deported from the planet. As for the Americans there, they were allowed to remain loyal to America, though Bacchus-American relations remained ill-defined as of 2125.
Elsewhere in Infinitas, the declaration of Bacchus's independence had some significant political impacts. The colony on Vulcan, which had mostly been founded and supplied by independent action from Bacchus, predictably became a part of the "Planetary" Republic. The European facilities on Carmenta, however, decided to remain loyal to Europe.
The effects on Carmenta were also quite complex. Despite a decent opportunity and excuse to do so, the governor of Carmenta declined to declare independence as well. Overall, the American colonists remained fairly loyal to the United States back on Earth, but Bacchus's example certainly had an effect on them. Revolutionary sentiment on Carmenta regained some momentum, and it was unclear whether the planet could remain loyal indefinitely.
On a less political note, Bacchus continued to work on its terraforming and infrastructural projects. A space elevator was completed on the planet, despite the engineering difficulties of Bacchus's greater gravity, in 2122. Additionally, some basic plantlife was also introduced into the environment, though the results here were less promising - Bacchus would still have many years to go before its atmosphere was breathable.
Valhalla, Olympia, Lucenta, Carpathia
Despite Bacchus's independence, over the next few years the other European colonies remained quite loyal to their parent nation. In Valhalla, Asgard continued to industrialize, defying its natural role as a link in the chain between Europe and Olympia, and it continued to attract more colonists coming to Valhalla for its own sake, not just as a stepping stone to further systems.
Olympia's advances were even greater, as its orbital industry continued to expand, and geothermal energy plants were utilized to great effectiveness on Arcadia's surface. Arcadia also managed to complete a space elevator by 2123, and on the whole its development began to compete somewhat with the distant Chinese system of Xu Fu.
This infrastructural development was mirrored by some military development as well. Though Olympia was far from being a military colony, it constructed a couple of corvettes for its own use, and raised a small military of its own. However, its culture remained primarily a nonmilitary one, unlike the former European colony of Bacchus.
Politically, Olympia also managed to distinguish itself. Mostly on its own initiative, the system developed a more complex political system than any other colony, with elected representatives instead of appointed officials. Though some Europeans worried that this would accelerate Olympia's possible decay into another independent nation, the representatives mostly reflected the loyal views of Arcadia's citizens, and it was also speculated that this better representation would result in a populace more content with European authority.
Europe had also colonized two new systems by 2125. In 2120, a colony ship arrived at Lucenta, formerly 078-219, and quickly began working to construct a Stigma Skimmer there. The Europeans eagerly anticipated what they'd find on the apparently Earth-like planet at 091-322, but the colonization would have to wait for a Skimmer to be built in the otherwise insignificant system.
Meanwhile, in 2123, another colony ship was sent by Europe to Carpathia, formerly 075-321, to further extend its colonial empire. This colony was more distant than any that had come before, and its resources were not as spectacular as some of the other recently founded colonies, but Europe welcomed it regardless. The hot, dry surface of its colonized planet, Duhlen, soon began to develop into an urban center, though it would have many years before it rivalled older colonies like Asgard or Bacchus.
Zenit, Soyuz
The Russians also made their move into the interstellar frontier as the 2120's began. By 2121, their
Pionerskaya colony ship had been completed and launched, and by 2122, it had skimmed with Europe's (and Bacchus's) consent to Valhalla, where it conducted an independent Stigma jump to - somewhere.
Indeed, the destination of the
Pionerskaya remained a mystery to the international community until 2123, when a European probe to 091-322 found the system already occupied and given the name "Zenit." Surprise and confusion were expressed by all of the other nations of Sol, but it was left to them to figure out just how Russia had done it.
The general consensus was that Russia had used its nuclear technology to "brute force" its way past the energy requirements on Stigma jumps. Not even a gigantic nuclear reactor could produce the necessary power to perform a second Stigma jump without a launch platform, but a one-time nuclear weapon blast might be able to do so. So, after skimming with European consent to Valhalla, the
Pionerskaya must have jumped to the general vicinity of Lucenta, and then somehow performed a second jump to reach Zenit (formerly 091-322). At least, the European physicists maintained that it was impossible for the Russians to do it in a single jump, and the Russians maintained that it was a classified matter.
The move was technically justified by all the precedents and laws of interstellar colonization - from America's and China's promotion of "first come, first serve" policies to Europe's dictum of "space is big enough for all of us." However, it was widely seen as an underhanded landgrab by an upstart nation that abused the trust of a more established power. Certainly, Russia managed to retain a strong diplomatic position with the many countries that didn't care much about whether Europe felt offended or not, but it did cause the other superpowers to view Russia with a new suspicion - especially since that sort of "double-jump" remained beyond their capabilities.
As European surprise turned into anger and resentment, it was unclear what action it would take against the Russian colony at Zenit. Insult upon insult had been piled upon the EU ever since it placed humanity's first extrasolar colony on Bacchus, and the EU had always responded with restraint and pacifism. In this, too, they responded peacefully, though not without a sort of vindictiveness. The only way for Russia to supply Zenit was by using Europe's Stigma Skimways, and both Europe and Bacchus charged an extremely heavy tax on all goods sent through the intervening systems, especially those goods most useful to colony building.
Physically, Zenit was a highly unique system. Its colonized planet was Earth sized and had an environment as good as Earth's had ever been - better, in fact, than Earth's current polluted state. Predictably, it had native life, and its life was more complex than anything seen outside Earth. Its aquatic and landborne life followed patterns eerily similar to Earth's, and some forms of aquatic life - closely analogous to cetaceans - seemed to be as smart as any animals on Earth.
The Russian colony was designed to be quite environmentally friendly, and of course the European restriction on their supplies kept their industry from growing too large in any case. Information on the xenoforms there added to humanity's collective biological knowledge to an unprecedented degree, and the work of cataloguing the abundant life there would last many years.
The Europeans also decided that they wouldn't place a competing colony on a planet with less potential in the Zenit system. Instead, the colony ship that was previously intended to colonize Zenit was instead launched directly from Sol in early 2125, mere months before the second Russian colony ship departed.
As it happened, they had the same destination: 110-142. It was the Europeans' turn to surprise the arriving Russian colony ship with a colony on Zenit's most valuable world. Apparently the Europeans had been working on their own system for a longer Stigma jump, this one based entirely off refinements of Stigma technology itself. It hadn't been completed in time to secure 091-322, but now it would add an interesting dynamic to the colonization race between Europe and Russia.
There was a second good colonization site in 110-142, though its quality wasn't as good as the Europeans' planet. Lacking the means to travel back to Sol, the Russian colonists landed there, and tentatively began setting up their colony while waiting for the powers back in Sol to come to some sort of agreement. Also, while Europe had apparently not yet decided on a name for 110-142, as their success with the longer Stigma jumps was far from assured, the Russians had come intending to name the place "Soyuz," and so that name came into more common usage.
The geography of Soyuz was good for human habitation, though not so good as Zenit. Both of the colonized planets were much smaller than Earth, but the European one was distinguished by a (mostly) breathable atmosphere and useful quantities of liquid water, while the further Russian one was rather like Mars, though more rocky than dusty. The Europeans clearly had managed to snag the better end of the deal, but the fate of their colony might depend as much on diplomacy as on innate value.
Damen, Xiaoping, Haiyaoliangge, 039-240, 025-367
Despite the drama occuring between the other major powers, China managed to remain separate from most competition and conflicts. Instead, business continued as usual on the path of Chinese colony worlds leading to the ultimate prize of 025-367, with some colonies being maintained and others being founded and grown.
Though Xiaoping, formerly 009-108, was somewhat off the path to 025-367, its own inherent value let it retain much of the Chinese government's attention. Detailed policies were enacted on Xu Fu to exploit the aquatic environment as much as possible without completely depleting the planet's resources, and virtually every spot of land that poked above the waves was heavily urbanized. Meanwhile, massive agricultural platforms were constructed to float freely on the water's surface, and domestication of Xu Fu's native life proceeded with productive results.
Interestingly, Xiaoping also gained somewhat of a repuatation for being more liberal than the other colonies, which were held under an iron Chinese fist. Granted, "liberal" in the context of Chinese colonies was still quite heavily oppressed by any other standard, but this difference
did attract more colonists to the system - it attracted some disapproval from Communist Party leaders as well.
Haiyaoliangge, formerly 025-177, remained more of a pathway world than an objective in itself, but the development there to facilitate ease of transport grew to resemble that of neighboring Damen. In 2117, a fresh colony ship passed through the Skimmer at Haiyaoliangge to reach 039-240, and a colony on the harsh world of 039-240D began to grow as well. In fact, the Chinese government poured unprecedented effort into supplying and building the colony in this new system, and in record time another Stigma Skimmer was online and ready to send another colony ship through the system.
If the theorized Russian system of double-jumping could be called "brute force," then the term could be just as well applied to the Chinese method of simply throwing their state-controlled resources at the problem. Yet it was undenyably effective - by 2124, a Chinese colony ship had reached 025-367, a system of surpassing quality, matched only by Zenit and Sol itself.
025-367 was also quite unique in that
two of its planets had life. One of the planets was clearly more suited to life than the other, but both of them had breathable atmospheres, and both of them would doubtless be quite useful to the Chinese government. The great push to secure the system of 025-367 had been incredibly taxing on China's resources, but it may have been worth it - if China could hold the long string of colonized systems together under its own rule.