Interplanetary Council

The **Inter-Planetary Council of Cooperation** or **IPCC** was a political supranational government of the Worlds of Man. It existed between the 1st of January 2536 and was officially dissolved in 2556, albeit being de facto a null entity as of 2538, following the resignation of its only secretary general, Biala Stonehand.

## History

The Interplanetary council was was an idea long-proposed by various political theorists, minimalists, and anti-war partisans. Even members of governments and their agencies, were drawn to the idea of the Worlds of Man to be connected into one unified body. The main proponent of the Interplanetary Council theory was Jan Martins, a liberal scholar and UN councilor from Amsterdam. The main principles for the formation of the supra-planetary government would have been an equality in rights, a unified legislation concerning the administration of space, relinquishment of borders, and the adoption of one currency in foreign relations. Jan Martins had written a widely acclaimed essay in 2514, which, though, initially found success only among the citizens of the United Nations of Earth and Lundheim. The Chinese People's Heavenly Home's, Novozemlyan, Gean and Tangerian governments were not interested, and not even when asked by Earth media would give comments on the matter. The city-states that formed the Government of Sideralis even had an official position. Already in protest against the UN, the Sideral government slammed the idea: “If our neighbors should feel the need to subjugate their states to the whims of another entity, they are encouraged to join the United Nations,” said a spokesman of the Sideral government. Some have pointed out that Sovereign entities were interested and tied to Martins' movement, considering their main disadvantage was their need to conform with every particular power and treaty in space, if they wished to maintain their routes and holdings. A unification of legislation, currency and removal of borders might have eased their operating costs, certainly. A further inquiry into the adherents of the movement has revealed an interesting clique's existence among the staff of the United Nations. Even then, on Earth, the unifiying spirit prompted both rallies and protests, as some were adamant to show that progress would come through unity, while others feared the ”Alien” influence.

As more and more joined the cause of Martins, and formulated the theory more distinctly, Auroran politicians also joined the fray, offering an alternative method of achieving a supra-planetary body. The basis of the Auroran thesis was mostly diplomatic, and financial; whereby the body would be able to intervene diplomatically in case aggressive or illegal acts should be made by their members, and keep a united armed force and fleet to enforce such intervention, a unified legislation would have to be compiled and signed by the members, and, open custom-free transit would be guaranteed across all lanes, but remain patrolled and administered by individual planet states. Were the conditions such, the president of Aurora would have agreed, said Henry Nugent, an advisor to the Auroran head of state. Rumours began to spread, in 2527, that the UN and Norway were secretly plotting with Aurora to form a new government, which soon abated. The proponents of the interplanetary movement formulated a new joint statement on Christmas day that year, whereby they praised the bold leaders who advocated the unification, outlining the parameters of such a body in detail, and swearing they would strive towards the accomplishment of such. The following year, surprisingly, after an apparent dormancy in foreign relations lasting for almost 10 years, the young Emperor Zhe Xian-di of Zhongguo issued the following statement: “We, the Emperor of China and the Chinese People's Heavenly Home, agree that there is a need for an evolution of the relationship between our friendly nations. Furthermore, should it be proposed to us to participate in such an improvement, We would gladly consent to hold talks with the parties involved.” The Emperor then moved on to describe the historical precedents of such a union, and praised the United Nations as the first true planetary government known to man. At the end of the statement, the Emperor added: “Furthermore, We believe that in order to vouchsafe the leadership of an interplanetary body be neutral in their administration, it should be composed of equal numbers of representatives from all members.” That year, a frenzied media campaign brought the interplanetary theory closer to reality, through interviews of prominent politicians, debates, and documentaries made on the topic. This was further emphasized, when a new president was elected on Sideralis; Giorgio Guaino. Guaino was, by all accounts, an enterpreneuring man, who had managed to sway the opinions of the general populace of Sideralis with his agenda of hard work and business. In fact, while campaigning, he was himself still an employee in a factory, and was even fired for arriving late after a campaigning tour. He now came out as a strong proponent of the interplanetary movement, which would, in his view, benefit Sideralis in the way that they might be made a sovereign entity by the body, bypassing the UN. This, of course, was negatively perceived within the UN, but the movement accepted the Sideral condition, and inserted it into their manifest. It seemed as implausible that the interplanetary body would be able to perform such a diplomatic feat, were it not that Martins added a final principle to his manifests, which is as follows: *“In the interest of preservation of unity within the interplanetary association of free worlds, the citizens of any and all members should be able to decide their collective fate in referendum, as is done by the minimal states.”*