Procuracy of Unified Earth

The **Procuracy of Unified Earth** (**PRUNE**), also simply referred to as the **Procuracy**, is global political entity. Ostensibly a human/alien coalition government, it is in reality a totalitarian state completely controlled by the extrasolar Ascendants.

## Background

In February of 2045, long distance scans indicated a number of large unidentified objects on a slow approach towards Earth. As agreed upon, ADVENT Operations was activated on February 10th, 2045, with key personnel assignments filled by the latest active candidates on file. In less than two months, open hostilities between the aliens and Earth's forces ravaged much of the planet's developed world leaving the survivors desperate and alone.

The military conquest was brutal. The Ascendants' opening salvo included bombing population centers with "fog pods", containers with biochemical weapons that caused mass panic and flight into the countryside, and prevented returns due to the effects of the "fog". It infected survivors and holdouts, reducing them into feral humanoids over time. Cities like London, Paris, or Moscow were left depopulated, while those spared commonly degenerated into lawlessness.

Valiant efforts by Earth military forces were unsuccessful. Although there was some limited success in taking down enemy aircraft, even battleships, they were outmatched and confrontations in the skies resulted in severe casualties, as enemy fliers crashed into populated areas. Land forces fared even worse, outmatched by Ghoulpod armored spearheads and Brute shock troops, supported by other alien races in the Ascendants' thrall. Eventually, humanity was forced to surrender.

The Procuracy of Unified Earth officially formed in July of 2045, when the coalition government was first proposed by a small group of human politicians who stepped forth intent on negotiating with the Ascendants. The lopsided defeat of Earth's conventional militaries, together with the destruction of ADVENT, is portrayed as an unfortunate consequence of human hostility, while the establishment of PRUNE is seen as a gesture of benevolence that has "effectively served humanity and created an environment of peace and prosperity" for three decades.

This image was created through a combination of information control, suppression, and genuine recovery efforts, including the erection of new PRUNE cities built from the ground up to house the survivng human populace in a safe, sheltered, and controlled environment, with smaller settlements scattered around them in PRUNE patrol zones. Wealth inequality was reintroduced deliberately, however, to keep the population divided and promote conformity; model citizens would reside in PRUNE's pristine cities, while second-class citizens would live in poorly maintained slums.

Humans unwilling to live under PRUNE were forced to remain in the countryside and fend for themselves, living off the land, scavenging from abandoned cities ever under threat of the Lost, or join a resistance cell and risk PRUNE crackdowns.

## Organization

PRUNE is the sole remaining organized government on Earth and controls the vast majority of human society, including industry, law enforcement, military, and more. Humans play a role in government and are integral to PRUNE's operations as military officers, scientists, administrators, propagandists, and more, and can advance in PRUNE society, gaining power, wealth, and reputation (including PRUNE decorations for their services). However, crucial command and control positions are held by aliens or hybrids.

### Propaganda

The aliens' key areas of focus as directed towards the civilian populace are: recruitment of an increasing number of civilians into the city centers; nurturing an atmosphere of distrust to encourage self-reporting among city center inhabitants; encouragement of the belief that so-called "dissident groups" are to blame for perceived faults; disassociation of traditional beliefs and value systems in favor of adulation for the Ascendants.