Sol System

Earth, Terra, Home, Cradle, the Old World, the Marble, the Pale Blue Dot.

Since the new space age's beginnings, Terra's well-being has been taken into consideration with more importance. Nowadays, there is very little industry on the planet, and huge swathes of it have been declared no-go zones due to radiation containment or environmental protection. The Sub-Saharian and the Amazon forests, for example, require special authorization to enter, and heritage sites number in the thousands, protected by automated drones and the local population. Earth is essentially a museum planet, only housing government offices, and increasingly more eco-friendly cities. Industry, due to environmental protection and convenience, has mostly moved orbit-side, in giant superstations and atmospheric factories. There are five space elevators: in Europe, in America, in China, in South Africa and in Argentina. 

Living on Earth is considered to be a bit of a luxury nowadays, as cheaper habitation is available in orbit and on Mars, and generally, most countries require a permit to live planet-side, birth in their territory, or an employer's recommendation. Most large cities, especially in Europe, China, Japan, Northern Africa, Brazil and the West and East Coast of North America still host local populations, and have adapted to the strict regulations on emissions and planetary protection.

For more, consult the Human Factions and Governments section.

Luna, Earth's sister, has been extensively colonized. Although a terraforming operation has not been conducted, as to preserve its original look, it is covered roughly in half by dome cities, surface bases and tethered orbital stations. Luna is mostly a place for residential buildings, where a large percentage of Earth's population moved or was moved via convenient offers for cheap or free housing - before eventually moving elsewhere, leaving Luna with a smaller population. Nowadays, Luna is considered the "suburbs" of the solar system, whereas Mars is the industrial and labor center: life on Luna is quiet and mostly peaceful, with a lack of industry or high-effort jobs. Lunarians are mostly outspoken, friendly people with a neighborly attitude. The Moon's major cities are Selene, the largest dome city housing a vast office park, Betrothed, a tethered orbital spin station, named as such due to its ring shape, mostly offering docking services and repairs, Mondhafen, a German colony turned into a European Federation city-state, where the European Naval Academy is located, and Kolibri, a residential area on the dark side.

Venus, despite being a gas giant like Jupiter, has found its niche as a luxury and entertainment stronghold. The population is divided in two: High and Low Venusians. High Venusians live in atmosphere, up in aerostatic, floating cities, and the views, together with other coinciding factors, have caused Venus to become a new Hollywood. Social media and film stars live in the many cities of Venus, decorated with bright colorful lights and hovering gracefully over the clouds of the planet. This reputation has brought with it Hollywood's problems, from high drug use to rampant anarcho-capitalism. Casinos rise and fall, sometimes physically, stars are born and fade into obscurity, and fame or money can come and go at a moment's notice. Low Venus is entirely different, a purely blue-collar, worker-focused area of the planet coasting just above the acidic seas and clouds. Low Venusians are generally simple people who work to keep the aerostatic cities afloat and earn a wage. They typically dislike High Venusians as frivolous, jobless parasites, and conflicts between them are common. Of note is the Hyatt Venusian Prime Collapse of 2087, a terrorist attack by Low Venusians during which the Hyatt hotel airship was sabotaged, leading it to fall into the atmosphere and causing upwards of 250 deaths.

Mars was the second target of human colonization efforts, and is nowadays the second most important center of human civilization. Mars remains largely untouched and not terraformed, as the first colonies were established long before that technology was introduced. The planet's growth lead to it becoming its own civilization center, and national differences tend to matter very little on Mars. Martians are usually divided into two categories: Urban Martians and Rural Martians. Urban Martians live in arcologies and domes, enormous pockets of life on an otherwise desolate desert planet. These domes protrude up to the surface, but the majority of their construction is underground, and they contain housing, offices, entertainment and commercial areas. Rural Martians are a different breed, people who have instead made the surface their home. Rurals tend to live in lone bases or entire "neighborhoods" of habitats stuck together. These are usually the poorer residents, who cannot afford a place in the arcologies, but who have over time accepted and even come to love their status. Rurals are considered "rednecks," stubborn people who refuse to live in the domes, while Urbans are considered as "petty class traitors" and snobs by the Rurals.

Cities on Mars are plentiful and include Crest Olympia, Greater London, Moore, Elysium, Landis, Red Gaia and New Chicago. Huge parts of the planet are, however, reserved for horizon-spanning gigafactories controlled by drones and poorly paid workers. These factories, large enough to have an effect on the planet's magnetism, are mostly owned by Hephaestus Industries, and produce appliances, electronics, but also fabricated habitats and starship components. The Hephaestus Starship Launch Facility Prometheus-3 is on Mars, an enormous space elevator where starships are built and then launched into orbit via a slingshot mechanism.

Callisto's low-radiation, relatively quiet features have made it an optimal spot for habitation, and most of Jupiter's residents live here, commuting to and from work. The moon features colorful blocks of apartment buildings in an attempt to negate the lack of sunlight and provide some familiarity. Callisteans are usually reserved, no-nonsense people and typically suffer from low-gravity physical issues.