Signing of the Genoa Accords

* Ratification of the Jeremiah Macdonald Environmental-\*Revival Treaty in 212 nations
* Renewed international interest in the colonization of outer space. Influx of resources and immigration to Armstrong, Lowell City, and Gagarin Station.
* Devotion of resources and research to Helium-3, and the field of mass-effect physics
* Beginning of talks that would lead to the signing of the Systems Alliance Charter by Earth’s most powerful nations, following the discovery of the Charon Relay and its use

The **Signing of the Genoa Accords** is one of the most important diplomatic events in the history of humanity. Taking place from March 15th to July 21st, 2149, the discussions would eventually lead to the formation of the Systems Alliance and the advancement of humanity to the furthest stars in the galaxy.

## Description

Perhaps the most important diplomatic occasion in the whole of human history. Months of diligent and cooperative work shared between several hundred diplomats and thousands of their staff members, tempered by the heat of a newly emerged global identity, forged a steel-bound treatise, solid and dependable, that would unite humanity as one for the conflicts to come.

Of course, it didn’t begin as such. When the call for a conference was first issued by Chancellor Yvonne Wagner of the Western European Union, the international diplomatic community was just beginning to settle down after the chaos caused by the Indonesian Civil War. Many interpreted the summit as a sort of political “wrap-up” to the conflict and its aftermath. That interpretation was efficiently smothered by the “Earth for our Future” talks, covering a full week in mid-April, and opened up by the wife of an internationally famous environmentalist, the late Jeremiah McDonald. These discussions were free of politicking and filled by biologists, geologists, and environmentalists the world over, all presenting the same good news; the world was on the mend. After a century of destruction and decline, the Holocene mass-extinction seemed to be ending.

This, naturally, called for change. Change in the form of the Jeremiah McDonald Environmental Revival Treaty put forward by Wagner and President Lila Kovac of the UNAS. The treaty offered generous benefits to pledged nations, both diplomatic and economic in nature, benefits that would only grow greater as more nations signed on. Which was exactly what happened, almost suspiciously fast. Within twelve hours of the treaty’s proposal, it had been signed by the Indian Union, the Chinese People's Federation, the Federative Republic of Brazil, and several more of the world’s most powerful nations. With their pledged support, the treaty drew weaker nations to Genoa like mosquitoes to a lantern, and soon all but a handful of the countries in the world had signed over their support. According to some, this was the exact outcome desired by Wagner, Kovac, and all of the wealthier nations that had been so quick to support the treatise, as part of an elaborate plot to draw the nations together for the benefit of the strong.

Perhaps it was, and perhaps it wasn’t. Perhaps, as many have ascertained, the benefits of the treaty were what transformed the wealthy nations of Earth into veritable paradises, while the periphery countries stagnated. Perhaps the power imbalance it created helped the Western European Union to fully absorb its Eastern counterpart, hegemonizing the old world from the western coast of Portugal to the Dneiper River. Perhaps. What is clear and concrete, however, is that the signing of the treaty was immediately followed by a development that was even more immense. Not long after the 212th nation signed the environmental treaty (The Isles of Jamaica were late in arriving), a young ambassador by the name of Nicolas Hellick, a little known UNAS Representative to the Western European Union, stepped up to speak.

What followed is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential pieces of individual human oratory ever spoken. Known today as the “Future Address”, Hellick’s half-hour long speech urged humanity to embrace a future in the stars. He called for global investment into the research and development of mass effect technology, revitalization of the exploration and settlement of the solar system, and an increase in effort to explore the galaxy outside of the Sol System. The speech struck the heartstrings of many, and within weeks a new space-race, driven by globally-cooperation, had begun.

Even more spectacularly, the influx of resources led to a new discovery. A map recently decoded in the Prothean ruins on Mars, led directly Charon 1, a small moon orbiting Pluto. Except it wasn’t a moon at all. It was a gateway, a Mass Relay. Beyond it lay a galaxy, full of mystery, immense danger, and opportunity. All of which humanity would face united, bound by bonds of blood, and the blue and white banner of the Systems Alliance.