Background

The earth has had a terrible, devastating war. During that war most national governments have been destroyed in scorched earth tactics. From these ashes a world government arose. This government becomes a shell for the corporations that rebuild the world. Religion falters as the war is seen as the apocolypse and armageddon that divine intervention abandoned.

The sham of a common government has finally fallen. The world is fully comercialized and developed. Corporations now divide the world, not nations. Corporations have competetive monopolies.

Earth has become an industrialized place, ravage by the war and reconstruction. Areas of extreme beauty are rivalled by the atrocities man has committed to make them. During this time, space travel within the solar system becomes more common. Primarily it is used to mine the asteroid belt and bring resources back to earth for reconstruction. As ships and drive technology become more reliable, colony stations are formed on the moon, mars and the moons of jupiter and saturn. Successful terriforming operations begin on Mars and Venus.

Conditions on these stations begin to deteriorate as the Syndicate deems them as nothing more than support for earth. The peoples become little more than slaves. The humanist movement starts mars and venus colonies mimicing unionization through rediscovered religion. Religion takes hold in the colonial stations as many that were persecuted fled there.

The syndicate develops a means of interstellar travel. It is still sublight, but a way to reach out to the stars. Corporations fund several colony ships that are sent forth. During this time several Humanist sects gain some corporate backing and a colonial vessels and ship off to distant worlds. Humanists are seen as expendable and so form the working class on these vessels.

--CRR 8/24/2008- very nice. I'll start to noodle and add on once I've got some spare time