You are visitor number ... kinda. Alright, it's about time I cracked down on the site and really got some crap done. I'm starting to consider using the Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition rules as the baseline for the MUSH. Could work quite well. The year is 2180. Humans have fought against one another for years since our time. The United Council of Democratic Nations, formed as a more effective replacement to the aged and agonizingly inefficient UN, was organized between existing NATO countries. Rising in opposition was Russia's answer, the Novaya Imperiya. While not an empire in every sense of the word, they amassed a surprising number of allies among the Asian powers. In 2040, nearly a century after the atomic age was heralded by the infamous bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, China's capitol Beijing was attacked using the first prototype lightning bomb. This weapon, which worked to a terrifying effect, ushered in the Energy Age. The war field slowly came to be dominated by directed-energy weaponry, and shortly thereafter, by the bolt laser. But this war was to be in its waning days. China surrendered 25 hours after the bombing, leaving Russia alone in the war, the rest of the Imperiya long since crippled. Russia fought gallantly for about a month and a half before also offering unconditional surrender. The war, which had started almost forty years before, was finally over. The UCDN quieted the world for the first time in many centuries. A year or so after the war ended, the UCDN offered a show of trust by inviting those countries that had survived the war, including the big powers China and Russia, onto the Council. The invitation was accepted, though with fierce resistance from independent militant groups within many countries, including some in existing UCDN countries. Once that business was done with, the UCDN reorganized. Every country was reworked to be a District of Earth. Presidents and Prime Ministers became District Council members. With this new system, efficiency was finally realized. The UCDN eventually renamed itself  the United District Council, in an effort to rid the world of the burdensome weight of the memory of the war. After a relatively short time of this peace, astronomers reported something beyond anyone's wildest belief. Jupiter's moon, Europa, had actually grown life that had finally risen to the surface of the satellite. Scientists aboard a cutting-edge research ship flew out to the body, in an attempt to study this phenomenon. Upon reaching orbit around Jupiter, however, transmissions were lost with the ship and never recovered. Thinking the new creatures had caused this tragedy, the first stellar navy, consisting of bulky, slow Alpha-type ships, was launched to destroy the moon. The mission was a disheartening success. There were no human casualties, but the hope of interacting peaceably with a form of life foreign to Earth suffered a debilitating blow. Late in the bombardment, the charge cannon was developed as a way to more easily facilitate the destruction of an entire planet. It was installed on newer, sleeker Beta-type vessels, though they were barely out of Earth's orbit before news came of the completion of the mission. Some Alpha ships returned with chunks of wreckage from the destroyed research ships. Analysis of the pieces revealed that the damage could easily have been caused by a stray meteoroid. Knowing that if the public were to learn of this fact, there would be wide-scale rebellion, the UDC quietly disposed of the chunks and held a funeral for those scientists lost. There was a hollow ceremony christening the new spacefleet, the Earth Defensive Force. The UDC quickly organized the Earth Defensive Committee as a more militarily-minded section of the government, to aid the EDF. For forty years after this saddening event, the edge of space remained untouched by human hands. In about 2090, scientists began eying the moon with a newfound interest. They designed an igloo-like structure, with a point-defense system usable in the event of a seemingly imminent meteor impact. In 2092, the first one began construction. After three years' demonstrative proof of its effectiveness, the UDC deemed it safe for civilian habitation. After four of these colonies got up and running, scientists entertained the original idea of a Martian colony. In 2099, the first colony was established on Mars. With this new technology, scientists suddenly became very eager. They now had a way to colonize virtually any solid planet around one AU from its star. They searched nearby solar systems for possibly habitable planets. MUSH status: Online. Go to www.slowsilver.net:2180 to connect.