The Age of Space
The Age of Space (2025-2048)
The closing years of the 20th Century saw a fading of nationalism, and a rapid increase in the power and influence of multi-national corporations.
These corporations were not restricted to a single field; their interests were vast, covering all aspects of industry and economics, as they diversified into every field which held potential profit.
Neither did they define themselves by country, or ideology; if there was a market to be supplied, then they supplied it, and ifit was wise to have installations in various parts of the world, then they did so.
In industry, in business, and in the media, the multi-nationals became more powerful, and more visible.
As the corporations grew, they began to weave together the economic interests of the nations of the world, and the spectre of large-scale warfare faded.
With head-to-head warfare economically unacceptable, the advanced states settled for venting their hostilities and waging their wars through Third World nations.
This trend continued through the early years of the 21st Century, as the corporations prospered and the interdependence of the major nations of Earth grew, and became entrenched.
Tensions did not cease, but were kept in control, and released in ways that did not damage either side's ability to produce.
Thus Humanity entered space in an atmosphere of controlled tension, but not outright war.
The Age of Space began in earnest in 2025, with the development of the Heisson Reactionless Drive, also known as Shield Drive.
It was created by Mark Heisson, the founder of Heisson Aeronautics Laboratories.
Using a radically different set of assumptions about the nature of reality, Heisson created a Drive that displaced areas of space, and allowed spacecraft to move at tremendous speeds.
This Drive is discussed in detail in Section 10400.1.6.2 1).
For now, it is enough to say that this Drive was capable of tremendous acceleration, and was restricted only by the speed of light; even the revolutionary Heisson Drive could not surpass that barrier.
Despite that failing, it brought the entire solar system within the easy reach of Humanity, and many of the multi-nationals moved to expand into space.
While Humanity reached for the planets, Heisson himself went on to reach for the stars.
He continued applying his considerable talents to the problem of faster-than-light travel, with the complete backing of several of the multi-nationals.
Six years after the Heisson Drive was first announced, he had created his next great breakthrough: the Jump Drive.
This went beyond the Heisson Drive's displacement of space, and allowed the entire spacecraft to break through into a non-dimensional mode of travel.
Precise destination coordinates were needed for any jump, however, and could not simply be deduced.
This made interstellar exploration a slow, difficult task at first, with numerous probes necessary to establish the location of a star system.
(Jump Drive is fully discussed in Section 10400.1.6.3.) 2)
The Heisson Drive and the Jump Drive led to an immediate increase in space research, and soon all Humanity was intent on the construction of interstellar exploration craft.
17 major multi-national corporations led this effort, supported by countless subcontractors and specialist firms.
Much of the funding for this vast endeavor came from the nations of Earth, which invested in various corporations.
Everyone was eager to share in Humanity's greatest adventure.
By 2040 the exploration craft, most of them unmanned, were beginning to leave the solar system.
They did not go in search of minerals, or other raw materials.
The Heisson Drive alone had made those things readily available.
Since it was easy to reach the planets and moons of the solar system, it was not necessary to travel to distant stars for metals and the like.
What the stars held was knowledge, and the potential of new habitable planets, to ease the population pressures of Earth.
For several years, little of concrete value was obtained.
Astronomers and scientists were learning at a phenomenal pace, but the financial efforts of the Earth were not being rewarded.
In 2048, however, the first habitable planet was discovered.
Dubbed New Eden, it was far from a paradise; a high level of volcanic activity resulted in a badly polluted atmosphere.
However, even though humans had to wear filter masks on its surface, it was well worth colonizing.
New Eden had its own lifeforms and ecology, and was certainly a habitable world.
The crowded peoples of Earth were elated, and Startech, the corporation which discovered it, skyrocketed in value.
While Startech instituted the first Colonization Program, the other exploration corporations went back to their hunt.
There were more worlds out there among the stars, and better ones.
The race to the stars continued.