Historical Overview

In the 2020s, tensions were at a breaking point: Israel in Palestine, Russia against the West, China's economical expansion, border conflicts and religious extremism on the rise. It was expected that such tension would snap like a taut string. It started with land invasions, massive air offenses, naval battles. Russia marched West, met with the unmovable wall that was the European Union's armies. China sailed East and faced the United States. Infighting and civil wars took place worldwide, until finally, the keys were turned and nuclear war raged.

Unbeknownst to the East, the EU and US had developed Operation Ricochet, an extremely advanced ICBM defense program, powered by orbital defenses, anti-air networks on the ground, laser technology, electronic warfare tactics. When the missiles ultimately flew, the project came to life. Hundreds of missiles were shot down or intercepted, and the powers of the West stood, wounded, but not dead. Even their combined economies and minds were not able to prevent the inevitable: cities burned, armies faltered, but the West did not break, and Russia, together with other nations that had joined it in its cause, found themselves unarmed, taken hostage by mostly unused nuclear arsenals worldwide. China, having suffered less losses and still being an economic powerhouse, pursued its own goals, annexing Taiwan and falling into a prolonged war with Japan, only stopped by precision nuclear strikes and an assassination of the standing president.

National Developments

Although mostly successful, having shot down 65-70% of nuclear warheads, Operation Ricochet ultimately was not effective in preventing the United States' fall into chaos. Riled up by years of political and ideological conflict, militias formed and entire areas declared independence, faced with both the US Armed Forces and opposing militias. Destroyed or rendered powerless, Mexico and Canada both engaged in loose fighting with US military and guerrilla forces, eventually leading to a retaliatory invasion into the two. In a situation akin to the Union and Confederate States in the first Civil War, the independent militias and rogue states were defeated and liberated a short few years after the beginning of the war. On its last legs, the US, Canada, Mexico and other central american states shook hands and formed a single entity to support each other and rebuild. Obvious complaints still remain given the North American Republic's US-centric aesthetic.

Europe had fared the best, but found itself questioning its future. With the onset of WWIII, the EU had found itself struggling to survive following both the Russian invasion and the nuclear strikes that hit the main cities of the member states and large military bases. Already a de facto federation, it took very little work to officially declare Europe a federal conglomerate. Following a number of laws, the states of Europe managed to create an efficient system and quickly build up a powerhouse of financial, military and diplomatic might.

Russia, strained by its stalled invasion of Ukraine, was already on edge before WWIII began. Having been able to overwhelm Ukrainian defenses by exploiting a period of political unwillingness to supply the defending nation, the Russian Army managed to push to the borders of Europe and, fanatically motivated by such victory, ultimately declared war on Poland, Romania, the Baltic states, and by consequence, the EU as a whole. Wholly unprepared to confront several professional armies, Russia was pushed all the way back to its borders. Upon news that a Dutch battalion had taken control of Kursk, the order to launch all nuclear warheads was sent. Although roughly 35% of launch sites refused the order, the launches still occurred, prompting The Beginning. This would, however, mark a point of no return. The entirety of the Russian Armed Forces, if not for minimal resistance by fervently loyal officers, turned around and marched on the Kremlin, ousting the president and instituting a temporary military leadership that swiftly transformed into a worker-led communist republic: the United Russian Republics.

The Southern Hemisphere had fallen into infighting and political conflicts during WWIII, and it too suffered nuclear strikes between neighboring governments and old rivals. Once the dust had settled, however, South America and Africa found common ground in a coalition led by global south states, nations typically forgotten by the big powers of the north. South America was first, uniting into an unofficial union based on transitional justice and reforming the bonds of society. Several African states then followed, applying to this union and eventually forming the South Hemisphere Coalition. Together with extreme climate change and a shift in humidity towards Africa, this Coalition resulted in enormous prosperity to the continent, bringing a renaissance to the cradle of humanity.

The Pacific came later, taking the idea from the other government conglomerates. When WWIII began, China did not fire its nuclear arsenal, leading to a careful stalemate that was broken by the nuking of Taiwan. Japan and nearby allied nations, supported by the local Pacific US Navy fleet, strategically took out the Chinese Army leadership, disabled its nuclear capabilities and eventually assassinated the president and some members of the government. China briefly split into a number of self-governing regions, only to be then reunited by a resurgence in communist ideals and the re-establishment of the Communist Party of China as a true socialist republic. In order to support each other in the rebuilding of the Pacific nations, the two allied, and so the nearby states followed - to this day, the Pan-Pacific States remain the least stable but most economically powerful government in the world.

The Arabian League formed halfway through WWIII, initially aimed at preserving profit and offering a paradise for the wealthy during a time of crisis. However, following the nuking of some local military centers, League members found that monuments and ancient historical sites had been damaged or destroyed. The image of the pyramids of Giza in ruins served as a wake-up call, and since then, the Arabian League has poured its vast wealth into the preservation of Islamic and North-African cultural heritage sites.

The United Nations

During those times of newborn state conglomerates, the United Nations found itself a lacking body. Having had little leeway and impact during World War III, it began crafting its new power after a moving speech by the High Representative of the European Federation, now a single state. Resolution A/RES/144/385, titled "Declaration of the new purpose of the United Nations" was approved during the 144th Session of the General Assembly, and entered into validity late from the beginning of the war on the 1st of January 2102. Perhaps one of, if not the longest document in the organization's history, it gave itself great powers and removed several checks and balances, to ultimately move towards a new goal: the safeguard of humanity's future. Technology and research boomed due to the newfound tranquility, and the world poured with ingenious creations. Rockets flew, this time carrying scientists and settlers. Destroyed cities were rebuilt, capitals were renovated, arts bloomed. A Renaissance spread through the Earth unlike anything before, and the dreams of any science fiction lovers came true.

It did not take long for the first humans to conquer other planets, and for life in space to become as common as life on the ground. Much like the Wright brothers before, now inventors and engineers experimented, tinkered and worked: from unstable cans of steel, starships grew to stunning machines, sailing through the void beautifully. Instant travel to minimize time dilation, space manipulation for more efficient propulsion and effortless life support systems became as common as a car, and humanity's growth into its pocket of space seemed unstoppable. It was then that it met with the first aliens. The Kosidian Cosmocracy, bulky mammals from Eridani, which met with an american fleet along the borders of the Sol System. Faced with an utterly patriotic and proudly militaristic alien, the Kosidians found common ground swiftly, and were seemingly just as excited to find another species as the Humans. The Vigil were next, drifting into the system onto an asteroid found by a mining crew, large octopus-like mechanical beings. Finally, just in 2154, the Skrell Assembly, an esoteric, psionic nation made of amphibious frog-like beings made first contact with humanity, having found Voyager 1 on its dutiful journey.

National Decline, Globalist Ascent

As planets were colonized and the first births occurred outside of Earth, national ties became less and less important, leading to a steady decline in the importance of a person's nationality and the rise of a sense of planetary community. Many planets in the system have begun to develop their own dialects and even languages naturally, sometimes mixing them together and coming up with terms and sayings related to their home. Requests for independence for colonies have risen linearly as time passes, while planetary alliances and communities tighten and become more rooted. This has, consequentially, lead to an even higher importance for the United Nations. A Martian resident, for example, has an easier time recognizing themselves in a wide, human-scale organization rather than a nation with a specific culture, language and customs, and the entry of Kosidians and Skrell into the UN has only strengthened its role as a galactic governmental entity - to the point that some are calling for a union of all the world's governments under the United Nations.

Unofficially and informally, the UN Navy and its personnel already cover more than they legally should, given their vast funding and public trust, taking the role of a human-wide governmental entity in systems where governments struggle to reach. As the years have passed, as the stories spread, as humanitarian missions, daring rescues and planetary aid campaigns have increased exponentially, the visage of the stark white of UN hulls has changed. From the sign of a decrepit, powerless organization frequently ignored and downtrodden, it has become the sign of a savior, of a professional group of people from all walks of life with one single goal: