Earth

Earth, with its beautiful artificial rings.

Earth is the capital of the Confederacy of Humankind. It is the homeworld of humanity, and its most important planet.

## History

### Pre-Humanity

#### Formation

Earth formed from a swirling cloud of interstellar dust, along with the other 8 planets of the Sol System. As it formed, it collided with other protoplanets to accrete mass, eventually collecting so much that it became the largest rocky world in the Solar System (at this time Saturn had been blanketed with gas, and so does not count as a rocky world). On of the final collisions it underwent was when it collided with a protoplanet named Theia. They both obliterated each other, Earth staying partially together while Theia melded with Earth. bits of both Earth and Theia were flung into orbit around the resulting planet, forming a ring system. Eventually, the ring system accreted together, forming Selene and Luna (Ancient). Selene and Luna then both collided, to form Luna (Modern). When Neptune migrated from inside the orbit of Uranus to outside, it flung many water rich comets in toward the sun. Many of these carried water, and filled up the oceans of Venus, Earth and Mars.

#### Early Life

For a billion years, Earth was dominated by microbial life, living in its hot springs and black smokers on its ocean floor. All of a sudden, and no-one knows why, the microbes joined together, and created the first multicellular creature. This then went on and on, for another 2 billion years, until the now stable oceans of primordial Earth were filled to the brim with all manner of strange life. As the sun grew warmer, the land suddenly was habitable, and the atmosphere was filled with oxygen, and the first amphibians arose out of the water. They quickly evolved into fully land-dwelling animals, and the age of the terrestrials began.

#### Cambrian Explosion

Before the terrestrials had arrived on land, the vegetation in the sea had evolved to live on land. These formed the first trees, fronds, grass and other plants. They filled the atmosphere with oxygen. Once the terrestrials arrived on land, the oxygen allowed them to evolve to great sizes and variety. The Cambrian Explosion began. The animals ruled the land for hundreds of millions of years, but one type of species remains in our hearts today. The Dinosaurs.

#### Dinosaur Era

The Dinosaurs ruled Earth for over three hundred million years, separated into three stages with different amounts of oxygen in the atmosphere, and different species of dinosaurs.

##### Triassic

The Triassic Period was kicked of by a massive extinction event, aptly named the 'Great Dying', and for the first few million years, the planet was barren. There was little plant life, very little animal life, and the atmosphere was still recovering. Even today, no-one knows what caused the Great Dying. Further into the Triassic, the land recovered, and the planet entered a period of lush greenery, and breath-taking animals. Earth was a garden world, more lush than Earth is today. The Triassic ended with another Great Dying, not as great as the one that started it off, but it still cleared off the primeval dinosaurs, and gave way for the next generations.

##### Jurassic

The Triassic-Jurassic Extinction Event was associated with the Central Atlantic undergoing rapid expansion, pushing North America and Europe away from each other. This released lots of gasses, which heated up the planet. After the planet recovered, the surviving dinosaurs started to move out into the central stage. They covered every continent on Earth (with the exception of Antarctica) and evolved and diversified, until there was thousands of species of them. During the time, the Earth was hotter, and there were no polar ice caps. The equator was dominated by deserts, and forests got sunlight 24 hours a day at the poles. The dinosaurs came to live all over the planet, during this time, and when Pangaea started to break up, it carried the dinosaurs with it.

##### Cretaceous

Unlike the Triassic and the Jurassic, the Cretaceous was not heralded by a massive extinction event. The boundary between the Jurassic and the Cretaceous was defined by the slow cooling of the planet, with snowfall happening around the poles. However, about half-way through the era, the temperatures rose again, until sea temperatures were as high as 42 degrees C (108 degrees F). Rainforests existed at the poles of the planet, and the equator was a incredibly hot and arid desert. The end of the Cretaceous was defined by the coming of the Asteroid, the Chicxulub Impact, which hit in what is now modern day Mexico, on the Yucatán Peninsula. The only life to survive was in the sea, in the air, or underground.

The Dinosaurs ruled Earth for over 300 million years, until the were wiped out of existence by the Chicxulub Impact. This cleared the stage for the rise of mammals.

#### The Rise of Mammals

After the dinosaurs were wiped out, many evolutionary niches were exploited by the sole heirs to the dinosaurs glory, the Mammals. One particular genus of mammals, the *Homo* genus, would go on to become one of the most powerful and intelligent species in the Universe, but right now they are sitting around in trees, looking at each other and scratching their butt. As they came down from the trees, they graced the African savannah, and eventually invented tools. It was at this time, the they started to explore, and ventured outward. They arrived in Europe, Asia and Australia, via land, land and sea respectively. They evolved and diversified, but then many died out, arriving at the one species of *Homo*, *Homo Sapiens*. They were all over the world, and they began to become more and more intelligent. Leading to the first active culture the First Nations of Australia, who remained longer than any other culture in the world. Back in the European - African area, one of the worlds greatest and most remembered civilizations was starting up.

### Post-Humanity

#### Egyptian Era

The Egyptians were quite pioneering in some ways, and were quite stagnate in others. They were the first European civilization, and could've swept the entire of Europe, Africa, and half of Asia, but remained in Egypt. They were pioneering in technology, having advanced agriculture, stonemasonry, and others. They had potential, but there were stagnate. This led to their integration into the Romans, and when the romans fell, they fell as well.

#### Greek Era

The Greeks were probably some of the most pioneering ancient people. They laid down the rules for mathematics, engineering, and science. However, they never managed to unite. If they had, they probably would've been one of the most successful ancient civilizations. They were eventually conquered by the Romans.

#### Roman Era

The Romans were the most ambitious, and arguably the most successful of ancient civilizations. They expanded by conquering, and integrated the previous two civilizations into themselves. They also were successful in technology, having the first working sewer systems, and building huge aqueducts and cities. They covered the entire Mediterranean Sea, but they thought that that was all that there was in existence, so they didn't go further. They eventually fell, after almost a thousand years.

#### Middle Ages

The Middle Ages came after the Roman Empire fell, lasting almost a thousand year were Nothing Much Happened. Very little can be said about the Middle Ages.

#### English Era

After the monotony of the Middle Ages, the English rose to power, controlling the sea. They built up a global empire of colonies in Australia, North America, Asia and Africa, by pillaging, massacring, and generally making everyone's day miserable. They only controlled their empire for a few generations, until the Americans broke away, then the Australians and New Zealanders, and the Africans. The Empire was brought to its knees by this, and the final nail in the coffin happened with India declaring its independence. The English Era was over, and the Americans became the new global superpower, sharing with Russia.

#### Russian-American Era Interlude

In the interlude between the complete fall of the English Empire, and the rise of the Americans and Russians, two World Wars happened. They killed many people, and finally ended with the only two atomic bombs being dropped in anger for the entire of human history. The Russians and Americans then rose as superpowers, after all the suffering.

#### Russian-American Era

The Americans and Russians both became the forefront of technology, economy and military during this time. The only problem between the two is that they had confliction ideals. This conflict almost became World War Three with the Cold War, but eventually they stood down. Up into the Early Information Age, the Americans and Russians were the most powerful, until China stole that title.

### Global Modernisation

#### Information Age

The Information Age began with the millennium. Humanity suddenly had control and access to exabytes of data, and began to live lives on luxury, compared to their ancestors. It was during this time, that the Chinese rose to become the dominate nation. They manufactured almost everything, and were leading technology. For a while, it looked like China would control everything, and would lead Humanity into the future. But then an unexpected competitor emerged. They led the research and development of spaceflight, which seemed to be the only thing China did not hold monopoly over. The country was Egypt. They had access to the equator, and had the recourses. They had lots of open and barren terrain, so tests would not harm anyone. They led the way into the era of commercial spaceflight, and the colonisation of Luna and Mars.

#### Commercial Spaceflight

Toward the end of the 2040's, the price of a trip into LEO was the equivalent of a flight from London to Paris. This meant that millions of people were going into space each day, with hundreds of colonies sprouting up on Luna and Mars. The price was further lowered when humanity arrived in the asteroid belt. Eventually, it became a everyday thing, and middle-class citizens going up once a week on average. The wealthier people owned entire chateaus and colonies on other planets. Eventually, so many people migrated off Earth, along with the starting of the terraformation of Mars, that the UN, since rebranded to the United Nations of Earth, could not keep hold of the billions off-world. The happy family that had prospered since early 2000 broke apart, with different governments for different planets. This led into the solar era, with hundreds, if not thousands, of different governments throughout the sol system.

#### Solar Era

The Solar Era was primarily defined by the two wars that marked its beginning and end, Interplanetary War One, and Interplanetary War Two. In between the two wars, there was relative peace, but low prosperity. A significate portion of the system's population was in poverty, and the crime rate was high. The Solar Era lasted from 2120 to 2191, only 71 years. At the very end of the Solar Era, with IW2 on the horizon, a laboratory on the moon of Jupiter Cyllene, discovered the principals of interstellar travel. The person most directly responsible for the greatest discovery since fire was Arial Bodeaux, who also crewed the first interstellar ship, fashioned out of the moon Cyllene itself. And so began the greatest flocking of humankind since the discovery of the boat. Over 90% of all people in the Sol System flocked out into the surrounding star systems, under the banner of the Confederacy of Humankind.

#### Confederacy of Humankind Era

The CoH united humanity, and took to the stars. Earth remains its most valued world, being the centre of the nation both economically and culturally. The planet is incredibly populous nowadays as well, over 25 trillion call it home. It remains linked to the sprawled children of humanity, in their hearts and in their minds.

## Geography

### Europe

Europe was the centre of the world for most ancient cultures; they thought that there was nothing else beyond. Nowadays, though, it has shifted to a back seat, having the least population and the most amount of wilderness. Even so, over a trillion call it home, with the sprawling megacities of Paris, Madrid, London and Berlin merging together to for a type of mini-ecumenopolis. 99% of all Europeans live in *City Europa*, living in either the Paris District, Madrid District, London District of the Berlin District. The original city and town names are still the same, only they have become districts and regions of the gigacity covering 40% of European landmass. In 38 207 it was proposed to completely migrate all other people from other cities in Europe into City Europa, and demolishing the carcasses of the old cities to be recycled into parts for the new city. Europeans, being sentimentalists, declined it, and the odd population distribution of the continent remains. Over the millennia, the continent has developed and grown with each sea level shift, but today the continent is as it was when civilization arose.

### Asia

Asia is nowadays an industrial place, mimicking the ancient factories and farmlands of 48 000 years ago. The continent produces over 90% of the entire planets goods, and 50% of the systems goods. It is also one of the most populated - over 5 trillion live here, seconded only to Capitol is Island. The continents is also the home of hundreds of space elevators - so many that it looks like Asia has a mohawk. This gave rise to the popular phrase "longer than Asia's hair" used to denote something long or extensive. These elevators are mainly used for transferring the trillions of tonnes used to produce the goods down to the factories, and transferring the finished products up. There is so much going on, that if the continent suddenly stopped producing, but the elevators continued to shepherd the material down, then the equivalent of a few hundred mountains would accumulate only in a week! This is why it is vitally important that the continent remains in function, because without it the planet would break down, and the sol system would be in chaos.

### Oceania

Oceania is the capital of commerce. The main landmass, Australia, has since been converted into a mini-ecumenopolis. Collectively (excluding Capitolis), it has 4 trillion people.

#### Australia

Australia houses around 3 trillion people. The decision came when the entire landmass was basically declared useless, having no natural recourses (they were all mined out long ago) and little farmable land (around the coasts). The continent was covered in buildings, with the exception of the only bit of natural land sticking out of the continent, Uluru. It is located in central Australia, and is quite a strange site to see! Uluru sticks out, dominating a pleasant suburban neighbourhood.

#### New Zealand

New Zealand is an uninhabited island, a place of extreme natural beauty. Towards the end of the 7th millennium, the CoH decided that when Australia became the mini-ecumenopolis, all people in New Zealand were to be moved there. Since then, all cities have been demolished, a few extinct species brought back to existence, and generally the entire of the two islands have become one of the only human-free places on Earth.

#### Other Islands

All other islands remain similar to the way they were many thousands of years ago. Most of them are resorts, and a few are large enough to host cities. The only major difference is the fact that they now are the entrance and exit to Capitolis, so million pass through them every day. This means that apart from the actual Capitolis, these islands host some of the richest people in the Sol System.

### Antarctica and the Arctic

A lot of effort has gone into making the poles liveable. Hundreds of reserves have sprung up there, all the ice has been shipped off world, and the place still wasn't habitable. The CoH then decided to place a large mirror in orbit around the Earth. The thing was, it needed to stay directly above Antarctica and the Arctic, 24/7, 365, but a geosynchronous orbit wouldn't work as the poles are only rotating around, well, the poles. So a massive engineering project was undergone, and two huge mirrors, called the 'Twin Suns' were erected at the top and bottom of the world. They were joined to The Terran Ring, to hang there. They reflect the sun's light down to the poles, and can be switched on and off by rotating the dish. The poles heated up, and they became habitable, albeit cold. They now house 2 trillion people.

### Americas

The Americas once were the forefront of technology and culture, but have since shifted into a back seat. They are still very populous, but having a trillion each, but are not the leader of any field any more.

#### South America

South America is mostly a agricultural continent, having vast swaths of it being covered in fields. The only thing being left alone is the Amazon, which has been designated a global park. From orbit, it is possible, if you have a keen eye, to see the angles and strait lines of the fields. The entire continent is the main producer of food for Earth. 85% of all the food on Earth is grown in South America. The remaining 15% is grown on Mars and Venus. The continent has had major landscaping done to it, that it hardly resembles the continent that it was many years ago. The coastline is the same, but the land has changed substantially. The ancient mountain range named the "Andes", have been completely levelled, and the islands toward the bottom have been industrialised and levelled.

#### North America

North America is a large population centre, having large urbanised areas. However, there are only a trillion people living on the continent, but in the past it had many more. The continent has mainly fallen into ruin, with many areas completely destroyed. The continent is a hive for criminals, drug dealers, and many other low-life scum. However, towards the north the continent has not been touched. It is a pristine landscape, touched only by occasional hikers and naturalists. The isthmus connecting North and South has been industrialised, and is the main centre of commerce for the two continents. As you get further south, the more industrialised the landscape gets, until there is nothing but continuous factories in every direction. The continent has had its glory days, but has since fallen into a back seat.

### Africa

Africa is home to 4 trillion people living in its verdant fields and bountiful savannahs. The continent is possibly on of the most important in modern times, being the centre of industry, manufacturing, tourism and a whole lot of other fields. If you land on Earth, then you likely go through Africa. It is the centre of tourism, and rakes in quadrillions of Universal Units. The south of the continent is the centre of population, having 3 trillion of the four trillion living on its surface. Towards the north, and around the coasts, is where the the money is. Millions of resorts and tourist attractions are located around it.

### Capitolis Island

7 trillion people call Capitolis home, even though it is the smallest and newest of all the continents. Is is only barely visible from orbit, with most of the people living deep underground, or in the super-skyscrapers that dominate its surface. Sitting in the centre of the metal-and-glass jungle, is a building. Inside of this building, sit some of the most important people in the Local Universe. From this tiny island, on a remote planet, orbiting an unremarkable sun, people govern half the population and a tenth of the area of the Local Universe. It was constructed in the year 4921, after tensions rose when cities each wanted to be the capital of the new interstellar empire that had risen. Previously, the entire of Earth had been perceived as the capital with no particular location providing full governance. Eventually, the rubble from the demolished Andes and Atlas Mountains was used to construct the Island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, as well as dredging up lots of sand.

## Economy

Earth is incredibly rich, as it is the capital of a multi-galactic confederacy. Many companies claim to be 'Earth-based', but little are. A list of the 'true' Earth companies are listed below.

Almost a third of the population of Earth is employed by one of the above, but Earth mainly prides itself of the amount of small businesses that it hosts.

## Population

Earth has 25 trillion people living on its surface, above it in the air, or below its surface. In orbit are another hundred trillion, raising the total of the Earth-Moon system to around 130 trillion. Even for a ecumenopolis, this is a staggeringly large amount, saying nothing about the fact that the planet is not a ecumenopolis, and parts of it aren't even touched by humans. The population mainly live underground, in extensive cities. Only about 4 trillion see the sun each day. On Earth, it is considered a privilege to see the sun. In the fantastically high super-skyscrapers, some in excess of 10 kilometres tall, many trillions reside. In the circum-Earth band, named The Terran Ring, about one quadrillion people reside. Parts of it are still scaffolding, having no need to be made.

## Climate

Earth's climate has been in the past quite variable, but nowadays strict policies have been put in place to maintain the delicate balance that currently exists. When humanity was emerging, the climate was incredibly variable, with global temperatures rising over 4 degrees. After the CoH was founded, however, the climate was brought under control, and returned to the world-wide 16 degree C average. Many regulations are in place, with a total ban on all greenhouse-gas-emitting devices. Due to the tilt of the axis however, each place on the planet experiences a different climate at different times in the year. Humans call these, 'Seasons'. The Seasons happen at opposite times in the Southern and Northern hemisphere, with the equator experiencing the Wet and Dry seasons. For example: It is summer in the Southern Hemisphere, and it is Winter in the Northern Hemisphere.

### Summer

Summer on Earth usually entails large temperature rises, and at the poles the beginning of 6 moths of light or darkness. Due to global warming, the planet had extreme temperatures on normally hot places such as North Australia, Central North America, and Central Africa. After global warming was tackled, summer returned to its normal conditions.

### Autumn

Autumn is normally a phase, between the two extremes of Summer and Winter. It entails lower temperatures, higher rainfall (though this varies for location), and the stereotypical leaves-falling-off-the-trees. Not many storms happen, but rainfall is high.

### Winter

Winter is the opposite of Summer, giving cold temperatures, high rainfall, and overcast days nine times out of ten. It brings snow in colder places, but nothing exciting happens in winter, when you live in a normally warm place. Some animals hibernate over winter.

### Spring

Spring is when the trees grow their leaves back, flowers sprout and the animals that were hibernating wake up again. It brings many storms, and high rainfall, and warmer temperatures. Sunny days happen more often.

### Wet

The Wet season, also called the Monsoon, is a period that lasts half the year. It brings very high rainfall, hence the name 'Wet', and high temperatures.

### Dry

The Dry season brings little-to-no rain, and very high temperatures. It lasts half the year, and is only experienced around the equator.