Planetary Commonwealth

### Regional Languages

French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Polish, Italian, Dutch, Arabic, Hindu, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Indonesian, Malay, Persian, and over 10,000 other languages

### Population

11.2 billion

The **Planetary Commonwealth** is a sovereign state that covers most of the solar system and parts of several other star systems. It consists of more than 3600 states and shares land borders with Mali, Serbia and Turkmenistan. At approximately 510 million square kilometres on Earth, it is the first largest country on Earth by area. Its capital is Hong Kong, Earth.

The Planetary Commonwealth started as a multinational organization in 2100, and was put in charge of the defenses of the confederations. The headquarters of the commonwealth was in London from 2100-2150, but the headquarters was relocated to Hong Kong after the commonwealth was established as a sovereign state, as Hong Kong was deemed 'neutral enough' by the then secretariat of the commonwealth.

Humans (*Homo sapiens*) are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and large, complex brains. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, and language. Humans are highly social and tend to live in complex social structures composed of many cooperating and competing groups, from families and kinship networks to political states. Social interactions between humans have established a wide variety of values, social norms, and rituals, which bolster human society. Curiosity and the human desire to understand and influence the environment and to explain and manipulate phenomena have motivated humanity's development of science, philosophy, mythology, religion, and other fields of study.

Although some scientists equate the term *humans* with all members of the genus *Homo*, in common usage, it generally refers to *Homo sapiens*, the only extant member. Anatomically modern humans emerged around 300,000 years ago in Africa, evolving from *Homo heidelbergensis* and migrating out of Africa, gradually replacing local populations of archaic humans. For most of history, all humans were nomadic hunter-gatherers. The Neolithic Revolution, which began in Southwest Asia around 13,000 years ago, saw the emergence of agriculture and permanent human settlement. As populations became larger and denser, forms of governance developed within and between communities and a number of civilizations have risen and fallen. Humans have continued to expand, with a global population of over 10.9 billion in December 2100.

Genes and the environment influence human biological variation in visible characteristics, physiology, disease susceptibility, mental abilities, body size and life span. Though humans vary in many traits (such as genetic predispositions and physical features), two humans are over 99% genetically similar. Humans are sexually dimorphic: Generally, men have greater body strength and women have a higher body fat percentage. At puberty, humans develop secondary sex characteristics. Women are capable of pregnancy, and undergo menopause and become infertile at around the age of 50.

Humans are omnivorous, capable of consuming a wide variety of plant and animal material, and have used fire and other forms of heat to prepare and cook food since the time of *H. erectus*. They can survive for up to eight weeks without food, and three or four days without water. Humans are generally diurnal, sleeping on average seven to nine hours per day. Childbirth is dangerous, with a high risk of complications and death. Often, both the mother and the father provide care for their children, who are helpless at birth.

Humans have a large and highly developed prefrontal cortex, the region of the brain associated with higher cognition. They are intelligent, capable of episodic memory, have flexible facial expressions, self-awareness and a theory of mind. The human mind is capable of introspection, private thought, imagination, volition and forming views on existence. This has allowed great technological advancements and complex tool development possible through reason and the transmission of knowledge to future generations. Language, art and trade are defining characteristics of humans. Long-distance trade routes might have led to cultural explosions and resource distribution that gave humans an advantage over other similar species.

## Government and Politics

The Planetary Commonwealth is a federal republic with almost 3600 states on Earth. It is a federal republic and a representative democracy "in which majority rule is tempered by minority rights protected by law.

The Commonwealth Government composes of 5 sectors:

* Executive: The president is the commander-in-chief of the military, can veto legislative bills before they become law (subject to congressional override), and appoints the members of the Cabinet (subject to Commonwealth Council approval) and other officers, who administer and enforce federal laws and policies. There are 26 ministries in total.
* Legislative: The Commonwealth Assembly is in charge of the legislative work in the Commonwealth.
* Judicial: The Supreme Court and lower commonwealth courts, whose judges are appointed by the president with Commonwealth Council approval, interpret laws and overturn those they find unconstitutional.
* Supervision: The Supervision Commission has the duty to fight corruption and report unlawful acts committed by officials.
* Examination: The Examination Commission is in charge of hosting exams, interviewing civil servant applicants and other examination work.

### Foreign Relations

The Planetary Commonwealth only has diplomatic relationships with Serbia, Mali and Turkmenistan. The Planetary Commonwealth have consulates in Serbia and Turkmenistan, but does not have consulates in Mali due to the instability in that country.