Adventure Companion/Adventure Companion CD-ROM (Lime Light Media, Inc.).ISO/tbs/history.txt

Text File | 1995-02-13 | 15KB | 279 lines

            The Starship Commander's Tactical Battle Simulator
                   (C) Copyright 1993 William D. Hause

    The Universal World Federation is the name given to the United
Countries on Earth and those Earth colonies on other planets which remain
loyal to the Earth.  The National Federation was formed in the year 2022
when the three major capitalist super-powers (The United States of
America, Japan, and European Alliance) decided to unite under a single
government for economic reasons. By the year 2055 the other nations of the
earth had joined the Federation either voluntarily or by force.

    The most important and revolutionary discovery since Einstein's theory
of general relativity was made in the year 2054 by a group of scientists
working for the Andromedan Corporation.  The Andromedan Corporation is the
worlds main producer of space probes and exploration vehicles.  These
scientists developed theories and made discoveries regarding the existence
of fourth dimensional space which later led to the development of a space
warping device by which matter could be transported over a short distance
without passing through the space between the starting and ending points.

    By the late 21st century on Earth, it became possible for people to
travel virtually instantaneously to any other part of the world via space
warp transporters at a negligible cost.  The natural barriers which at one
time separated the people of the Earth into different countries, races,
and cultures were all but a distant memory.  Inter-racial marriages soon
became commonplace and by the late 22nd century the vast majority of the
human population was made up of a single homogenous race of people.
Needless to say, racism was now a thing of the past.

    In the year 2074 the first warp engine was made by the Andromedan
corporation.  This engine could only move a ship at slow speeds at a great
energy cost and was therefore not practical at that time.  As technology
advanced, new sources of energy such as matter-antimatter power generators
were developed. Warp engines then became the main source of propulsion for
spacecraft.

    The materials needed for the matter-antimatter reaction to occur were
rare and expensive.  An abundance of these materials was eventually
discovered by the Andromedan Corporation on a planet located 12,000
parsecs from Earth. This planet was known then only as planet AXJ-74.
Despite the ten years required to get there, it was quickly colonized by
the people of Earth.  In the year 2195 the people of this planet revolted
against the Federation and formed their own government.  They became known
as the Andromedans.

    Other planets were colonized and many of them became nations in their
own right.  Eventually the people of these new planetary nations decided
that they should all be united and the Universal World Federation was
created.

    The first alien intelligent life was discovered by Federation
explorers in the year 2138 on a planet 15,000 parsecs from Earth.  The
people on this planet were living in their stone age and were very
barbaric in their ways having no respect for life whatsoever. They were
reptilian in appearance and were found to be highly intelligent.  These
newly discovered alien people were anarchistic and had no single name for
themselves.  Because of their savage ways and their lizard like appearance
the Federation people referred to them simply as "The Barbarizards".

    Many people in the Federation felt it was not politically correct to
refer to these people by the name Barbarizard so they formed a committee
of Barbarizards to decide on a new official name for their people.  The
Barbarizards didn't know what the word barbarian meant in English so the
Federation representatives explained it to them in order that the
Barbarizards would understand why they needed a new name.  Once the
Barbarizards were made to understand that the meaning of the word
barbarian is "a savage, cruel, brutal, rude, uncivilized person", the
Barbarizard committee immediately decided that the name Barbarizard fit
their people perfectly, and the name Barbarizard was made official by
unanimous vote.

    The Barbarizards were eager to learn from the Federation, and soon
adapted English as a second language.  The Barbarizards were both educated
and exploited by the Federation.  They were given the latest Federation
technology which they used against the Federation in order to gain their
independence in the year 2218.  The Barbarizards because of their barbaric
nature became the most feared enemy of both the Federation and Andromedan
Empires.  Due to the great distances between the planets the Barbarizards,
at that time, were not a great threat to humanity.

    Shortly after the discovery of the Barbarizards, another intelligent
species of people was discovered in the year 2142.  These people called
themselves by no one name for they were not united.  They lived in small
tribes and villages and many of these tribes only survived by raiding the
farming villages.  These people called their planet Vikon and became known
to the people of Earth as the Vikonians.  The people of Earth gave the
gift of technology to the Vikonians as they had not yet learned their
lesson from the Barbarizards.  In the year 2225 the Vikonians gained their
independence.  While the Vikonians are not as cold blooded as the
Barbarizards, they do continue to survive by stealing from nearby planets
and passing ships. For this reason they are considered to be a menace by
the Federation.

    Over the years 54 other intelligent alien beings have been discovered
however none have been interfered with in any way and all of them are
thousands of years behind the Federation in technology. If there are other
races which are more advanced than the Federation, they apparently don't
want to be discovered.

    It has long been known that Humans, Barbarizards, and Vikonians are
genetically incompatible.  These different peoples can not be bred to
produce offspring, even under laboratory conditions.

    Growing interspecies hatred and prejudice can not be overcome in the
same way by which racism among humans on Earth was eliminated.  There
shall never be homogenization of the empires.  Logically there will
eventually be only one intelligent species filling the evolutionary niche
occupied up until now by each intelligent species on their respective home
planets.  The people of the four super empires are aware of this fact and
will fight to the death to ensure the survival of their kind.

    It is now the year 2320.  The Federation and Andromedan Empires have
formed an alliance to protect themselves from the Barbarizard-Vikonian
threat.  There has been peace for over 100 years but now tensions are
building between the Federation-Andromedan alliance and the Barbarizard,
and Vikonian empires.

    Battles have been breaking out all over the galaxy.  You are the
commander of a starship or perhaps a fleet of starships.  It is your job
to defend your empire and win the war for your people.



              ╔════════════════════════════════════════════╗
              ║            Civilization Profiles           ║
              ╚════════════════════════════════════════════╝

                       ┌─────────────────────────┐
                       │ The National Federation │
                       └─────────────────────────┘
The National Federation is both the largest and the oldest of the four
existing empires.  The Home planet of the National Federation is the
Earth.  The National Federation is made up of over 45 Billion people, 35
Billion of which reside on Earth.  The people of the National Federation
enjoy a high standard of living and are moving toward a highly socialized
form of government.  Their government currently spends slightly over half
of the nations Gross Domestic Product, mostly on social programs and
defense.  The National Federation has the slowest economic growth rate of
the four empires but is still far ahead of the Barbarizard and Vikonian
empires in per capita income.

The National Federation has the largest and most advanced military of the
four empires.  Their primary military weapon is the Electron Torpedo, but
most of their ships are also equipped with Disintegrators.  The National
Federation is idealistic when it comes to war and they are rarely the
aggressors in a conflict.

Currently the most controversial issue in the National Federation is the
need to destroy all alien intelligent races.  About 65% of the population
believe it is necessary, and 35% believe it is unnecessary and wrong.


                       ┌────────────────────────┐
                       │ The Barbarizard Empire │
                       └────────────────────────┘
The Barbarizard Empire is made up of a barbaric warier race of lizard like
beings out to destroy or enslave all other races of intelligent beings.
The Barbarizard Empire has a population of about 18 Billion individuals.
The Barbarizard Empire has a militaristic, totalitarian government.  There
is no clear separation between the military and non-military sectors.  All
citizens are assigned a military rank and are prepared to fight.  There is
no room for the weak in their society and killing is not illegal as long
as it is done in a fair fight.

The Barbarizard military is the second largest, and the fastest growing.
Many people of all empires consider the Barbarizard military to be the
most powerful in the universe due to the ferocious nature of its
personnel.  The primary weapon used by the Barbarizard military is the
Antimatter Torpedo which is comparable to the electron torpedo in range,
accuracy and destructive power.

Most of the Barbarizard Gross Domestic Product is produced on its five
slave planets.  About 90% of the GDP is used to finance the military with
the other 10% being used to sustain the slave planets.  The Barbarizards
believe themselves to be the master race with all other species of
intelligent live being placed here to serve them.


                       ┌───────────────────────┐
                       │ The Andromedan Empire │
                       └───────────────────────┘
The Andromedan Empire is similar to the National Federation as far as
international interests go, however the Andromedan government is small and
favors economic competition in the public sector rather than government
regulated commerce.  The population of the Andromedan Empire is about one
fifth of that of the National Federation yet their GDP is almost as large
as that of the National Federation.  The Andromedans believe that the
primary purpose of government is to maximize corporate prosperity.

In the past, only a small portion of the GDP has been spent on the
military however with the growing Barbarizard threat they have been forced
to increase spending.  The primary weapon used by the Andromedan military
is the Drone.  The Andromedan drone is unique in that it has the ability
to store up large amounts of energy in its batteries.  The batteries used
on Andromedan drones emit deadly radiation while charging and discharging
and therefore must be kept far from the crew of the Andromedan ships.
Andromedan ships locate their drone bays at the end of a long extension
projecting from the rear of the ship.  The ship is heavily shielded from
the radiation emitted by the drone's batteries.  Andromedan ships use
Disintegrators for defense against enemy drones.



                       ┌─────────────────────┐
                       │ The Vikonian Empire │
                       └─────────────────────┘
The Vikonian Empire is the smallest of the four empires.  The Vikonian
government is almost powerless and simply acts to provide some unity among
the Vikonian tribes.  The Vikonians are predators who believe the strong
should take from the weak.  About half of the Vikonian GDP is derived from
robbing alien ships and raiding alien planets.  The Vikonians do not
consider themselves to be at war with the National Federation or the
Andromedan Empire however the Vikonians still make frequent raids on their
planets, bases and ships.  The National Federation and the Andromedan
Empire have made control of the Vikonian menace a high priority.

The Primary weapon used by the Vikonians is the Neutron Torpedo.  The
Neutron torpedo causes little or no damage to its target except that it
emits deadly radiation which kills all types of life on the targeted
vessel.  This allows the Vikonian attackers to easily board and capture
alien ships intact.  Vikonian ships carry disintegrators for defense
against enemy drones.




              ╔════════════════════════════════════════════╗
              ║            Historical Time Line            ║
              ╚════════════════════════════════════════════╝

2022 - The United States, Japan, and the European Alliance form The
National Federation.

2054 - Scientists at the Andromedan Corporation develop a space warping
device by which matter can be transported over short distances without
passing through the space between the starting and ending points.

2055 - All Earth nations are now members of the National Federation.

2074 - The first self transporting space warp engine is developed by the
Andromedan Corporation.

2090 - People routinely travel around the world via fourth dimensional
space warp transporters.

2125 - Matter-antimatter power generation becomes a reality.

2129 - Starships are equipped with space warp engines.

2134 - The first alien intelligent life is discovered by National
Federation explorers.  These people later become known as the
Barbarizards.

2142 - The second alien species of intelligent life is discovered.  These
people call their planet Vikon and become known as Vikonians.

2156 - Planet AXJ-74 is colonized by the Andromedan corporation for
purposes of mining.

2195 - The AXJ-74 colony revolts and forms its own government.  They
become know as the Andromedans.

2218 - The Barbarizards revolt against National Federation rule and gain
their independence.

2225 - The Vikonians revolt and gain their independence.

2280 - The Barbarizard Empire declares war on the Andromedans and the
National Federation.

2282 - The Andromedans and the National Federation form a tight alliance
almost making themselves a single nation.

2320 - Present day.  The war is really starting to get going.  It won't be
long before there is only one technologically advanced intelligent race
left in the known universe.  Who will it be?