Prologue: The Lead-up to Geneva
Nathan Samuels, Prime Minister of Earth
“Having endured a catas
trophic world war, Earth’s governments came to this city for the purpose of creating a just and lasting peace among nations. Today, we have assembled here again, representatives of numerous worlds, to forge an unprecedented alliance. With this coalition of planets, we seek to strengthen our bonds of friendship, render permanent the peace that now exists among us, for the ongoing exploration of our galaxy. Let us dedicate ourselves to these worthy goals so that future generations can look back upon this moment with pride and eternal gratitude.”
These words, uttered by Prime Minister Nathan Samuels of Earth, marked the beginning of what would become the most consequential conference in human history. In 2174, in Geneva, Switzerland, the site of so many international negotiations and arbitrations, representatives of four interstellar governments would meet to forge a grand alliance which would bind their peoples together to pursue their common goals and to safeguard their common values. If they succeeded, United Earth, the Confederacy of Surak, the Andorian Empire, and the United Planets of Tellar would forever face the future as one. Only ten years later, however, Earth was in flames. Geneva became merely one of the many smoldering ruins dotting Earth’s surface, Samuels was in exile, and the dream of an idyllic interstellar alliance was thoroughly quashed. What happened?
The United Earth government was controversial from its inception. Founded in 2083, nearly 20 years after first contact with the Vulcans, “United Earth” initially only comprised of the remnants of the WW3-era European Hegemony (itself a loose alliance roughly consisting of the member states of the older European Union), the United Kingdom, Norway, Canada, Japan, and the newly united Republic of Korea. It would take almost 70 years for Earth to truly become united, with the last hold-out, Australia, voting by referendum to join in 2150. Despite immense controversy every step of the way, unification brought with it the seeds of a pan-human identity which would slowly take hold across the planet. Though crucial to the survival of a united Earth as a concept, this development also brought with it heightened skepticism and hostility towards perceived alien influence in Earth’s government.
Zefram Cochrane, inventor of the Warp Drive, greeting the commander of the Vulcan survey ship T'Plana-Hath in 2063.
Such fears were not totally unfounded. Since First Contact in 2063, Vulcan High Command had considered Earth as a severely backwards planet which had, somehow, surpassed the warp barrier. Vulcan High Command would have preferred to not engage with the humans at all, but they concluded that, left to develop on their own, the humans would either destroy themselves or advance to the point of becoming a threat. Begrudgingly, the Vulcans adopted Earth as a sort of protectorate, helping to heal the devastation of the Third World War and guiding Earth’s technological and social progress. Vulcan influence ensured stability at a time when humanity desperately needed it, but as time went on, more and more people became frustrated with what they perceived as the Vulcans “hoarding” technology and keeping humanity from taking its rightful place in the galaxy.
In spite of (or, far more likely, because of) Vulcan interference, humanity eventually established itself throughout the Sol system. The United States established a permanent Lunar base in the 2070s. After the USA joined United Earth in the 2090s, that base developed into a thriving colony which greatly simplified access to the rest of the solar system. Colonization of Mars began in 2103. Though human scientists hoped to eventually terraform the red planet, the technology required was decades, or perhaps centuries off, forcing the colonists to live in pressurized, highly shielded domes and tunnels. Though hardly glamorous, by 2150 Mars had a respectable population and contributed vital resources to Earth’s economy. Also contributing to the economy were the network of state-run and private asteroid mining operations – by 2150 asteroid mining had become one of the largest sectors of United Earth’s economy. Humanity also attempted to colonize an Earth-like planet in the Eta Cassiopeiae system in 2111, though this colony, named Terra Nova, mysteriously disappeared mere months after humans made planetfall there. It would not be until the 2150s when humanity again began to claim other star systems for itself.
Indeed, it did not take long before space exploration and expansion became the driving force of human society. The first generations coming of age after First Contact were enthralled by the seemingly boundless possibilities before them. The future was here, and the frontier was everywhere. Young people all over the planet flocked to urban areas, especially those cities with bustling space ports, in hopes they would get to go out and explore the cosmos. Most would never leave Earth – the disappearance of Terra Nova especially had convinced Earth’s leadership (and Vulcan stewards) that humanity was not quite ready for interstellar expansion, and there were never enough seats on interplanetary craft to meet demand. The communities those aspiring pioneers left behind felt their loss. Smaller cities and towns were left hollowed-out, with aging populations and progressively poorer economic prospects. Though generous social welfare programs limited the damage, by 2150 a distinct malaise had taken hold over much of Earth, a feeling which the forward-facing, largely urban political establishment poorly understood.
As humanity continued to expand into the Sol system, another trouble was brewing. The Third World War (2026-2053) was cataclysmic – even before its final, nuclear stage, it had claimed tens of millions of lives
[1]. The demands of the war fundamentally changed Earth’s economy. The globalized trade system which had developed throughout the 20th century collapsed. Global capitalism
[2] was essentially dead – to meet the demands of the war, most states nationalized large parts of their economy and began to tightly regulate the production and consumption of most goods. The end of the war did not end the planned economy. In the immediate aftermath, most governments felt such regulation was necessary in the short term to rebuild their shattered societies. First Contact brought some liberalization of nonessential sectors, but Vulcan influence only seemed to strengthen the argument for close planning – Vulcan officials encouraged it as the most logical policy.
It wasn’t until the turn of the century that this began to change. A newly-elected liberal
[3] government moved to privatize many industries, including significant portions of its assets in outer space. The new policy was intended to jump-start Earth’s economy by increasing its productive capacity and facilitating expansion deeper into the solar system. As liberalization continued, a new class of businesspeople gained political influence, and increasingly chafed under the strain of United Earth’s heavily regulatory economic policies. Though still not particularly influential among many mainstream political parties, some more radical industrialists found a home in anti-establishment circles.
All of these issues, bubbling underneath the surface for decades, came together to create an increasingly tense political situation going into the second half of the 22nd century. Though the post-First Contact consensus still largely held, discontent was steadily growing. It would only take a spark to escalate tensions still further. That spark came on March 8th, 2157, when a long-range tracking station in orbit of Neptune detected an unknown object passing through the Oort Cloud. Five days later, several ships of the United Earth Starfleet intercepted the object, finding it to be a sphere-shaped vessel capable of immense power generation. The unidentified craft refused to answer hails and continued on its course directly to Earth. Perceiving a threat, Starfleet engaged and destroyed the craft before it reached its destination.
An artist's rendition of the Xindi vessel firing its main weapon. Thankfully, the vessel was destroyed before it could do so.
Analysis of the wreckage in the following weeks confirmed the strange ship’s alien origins and its destructive capacity. Had it reached Earth’s orbit, it could have laid waste to large portions of the surface, potentially killing millions. Earth politics was changed forever – almost overnight, xenophobic sentiment exploded into the mainstream, with Earth terrified of another attack, and inhabitants of Earth’s budding interstellar colonies fearing that Starfleet wouldn’t be able to protect them on short notice, should they come under attack.
Earth analysts also determined who was behind the attack – a distant race called the Xindi
[4] , who were from a distant area of space called the Delphic Expanse. Beyond that, Earth researchers could determine very little. Soon after the attack, Starfleet initiated Project David, a highly classified program determined to find the Xindi homeworld. Eventually, Project David expanded to include destroying the Xindi planet-killer once Starfleet learned of its existence. Though Project David would succeed a mere two years later, firmly securing Earth from the Xindi threat, the Xindi incident left a permanent mark on the generation which experienced it.
Even so, the most significant consequence of the incident had nothing to do with the Xindi. As part of Project David, Starfleet sent its most advanced ship, the
USS Cleveland on an expedition to explore the Delphic Expanse to find the Xindi homeworld. However, on the way they discovered another planet, populated by small communities of humans of all things. These humans, it was discovered, descended from those who were abducted by an alien race called the Skagarans in the 19th century. They were enslaved, but eventually rose to overthrow and enslave their masters. The
Cleveland’s captain, Jonathan Archer, revealed the existence of United Earth to both the humans and Skagarans. Though the
Cleveland was forced to move on with its mission, Archer encouraged the human leadership to restore Skagaran rights and promising a friendly relationship with United Earth once they do so. Before finally resuming its journey, the
Cleveland left the planet a subspace transmitter so they could communicate with their Earthling cousins.
The USS Cleveland was a Saturn-class Heavy Escort. The class was designed to protect Earth shipping from piracy, and was the most advanced class in the fleet at the time of the Xindi Incident.
It would not be long before the transmitter was put to use. Only a year after the
Cleveland’s departure, drought gripped the colonized region of the planet. Already arid to begin with, the drought made it impossible to produce enough food or water to survive. In 2158, Earth received a signal requesting help evacuating the planet. Earth, not willing to let humans die, obliged. With Vulcan, Tellarite, and Andorian assistance, United Earth coordinated the evacuation of several hundred thousand people, human and Skagaran, from the doomed communities. Freedom for the Skagaran population was the only condition for aid, which their human masters had no choice but to accept. Refugee camps for both species were swiftly set up across Earth space, and over the next several years most would migrate to Earth, settling in regions depopulated by urban migration many decades before.
This was not without controversy. The new arrivals, especially the Skagarans, were often met with suspicion and even hostility by Earthlings fearful of Xindi infiltration. It did not take long for this to combine with the broader resentment of the alien presence on Earth. Many had already felt that the government was putting alien interests over their own, and the Skagaran resettlement only seemed to confirm this. It did not take long before candidates advocating for what they euphemistically termed “human-centric policy” began winning seats in local elections, especially in areas surrounding Skagaran settlements. Throughout the 2160s, several xenophobic political parties continuously chipped away at the established political consensus, winning converts across United Earth’s territories. They never represented anywhere close to a majority, but frequently they were just influential enough to make governing difficult without at least pretending to address their concerns.
A Skagaran male in 2159.
It was in this environment where Prime Minister Nathan Samuels invited delegates from three of Earth’s interstellar neighbors to Geneva, Switzerland. First elected in 2165, Samuels sought to establish Earth as a major player in the galaxy. He dreamed of a strong United Earth with friendly relations with its neighbors, in a position to mediate disputes between other powers and to expand into the wider galaxy side-by-side with its allies. Samuels believed that Earth had similar interests as other species such as the Vulcans, Andorians, Tellarites, Trill, Denobulans, and Betazoids, and that they should all face the future together. This was well-received by Earth’s electorate – Samuels won an expanded majority in 2170 and used it to establish friendship and cooperation treaties with the Vulcans, Andorians, and Tellarites.
However, it would not take long before it all began to unravel. In 2171, a diplomatic incident between the Andorians and Tellarites greatly harmed relations between the two and threatened to escalate even further. Only last-minute negotiations, mediated by human diplomats, avoided all-out conflict. Earth was very nearly caught in the middle of an interstellar war, and Samuels paid a hefty political price. The incumbent government’s approval rating dropped below 50% for the first time in decades as many people began to give the xenophobic opposition a second look. A severe outbreak of Rigellian fever on the newly restored Terra Nova colony in 2173 compounded these issues – thousands of colonists died before relief finally arrived. Images and video of the victims were widely shared throughout United Earth, and Samuels took the bulk of the blame for the disaster. With another election looming in 2175, Samuels knew that it would take bold action to safeguard the progress of the past several years.
However, the Geneva conference was not merely a ploy to strengthen a flailing politician. To its neighbors, humanity had carried itself well in the Crisis of 2171. The Andorians and Tellarites eventually restored their previously strong relations and gave credit to humanity for preventing a devastating war. Even the Vulcans began Earth as a worthy partner and logical ally rather than an immature ward. There was a genuine desire among all parties to strengthen the ties between them. And so, as Samuels opened the Geneva Conference with his famous words, many believed the next page of humanity’s story was truly about to begin.
History would prove them right, just not in the way they imagined.
[1] WW3’s final culmination in a nuclear exchange between the Western Alliance (essentially an expanded NATO formed in the wake of the Eugenics Wars,) and the Eastern Coalition (an alliance of Asian states including China, India, and Russia) killed hundreds of millions more, both through the initial blasts and its consequences, such as famine and nuclear fallout).
[2] Note that "global capitalism" is not synonymous with "market economy."
[3] [OOC] I am not using the word "liberal" in the American sense.
[4] [OOC] I have chosen to gloss over the Xindi story arc from Star Trek: Enterprise's third season, since it's political effects are really the only relevant piece here. If you are interested in learning more about the in-universe Xindi incident, then I would give it a watch. It holds up decently well.
So, that took longer to write than I thought it would! I have determined that there will need to be two more prologue chapters before we get into the game proper. Lots of divergences from canon already. Generally, I am stretching out the events seen in
Star Trek: Enterprise out over decades, for a more realistic progression and to cohere with how they are portrayed in game. I decided to scrap most of the canon history for the Terra Nova colony, mainly because it doesn't make a lot of sense. We'll learn more about what happened to the first colony later on. I gave Archer command of the
Cleveland because I did not have the NX-class researched yet when the Xindi events fired. The Skagaran resettlement is based on an in-game event which gave me the option to resettle three of their pops onto my planets. I jumped at the chance because, hey, free pops. Then I started getting events that flipped a bunch of my pops to Xenophobe since they lived on the same planets as the aliens. Not planned, but certainly welcome given where I want this game to go.
Welcome aboard!
Lol,
Enterprise definitely isn't my favorite but the title song is legendary. Unfortunately, faith of the heart may have a different meaning in this universe.
So glad to have you!
