Lina Mareaux

THE SOL SYSTEM – CYBER ERA Year 2625 After the nuclear infernos of the 23rd century reduced Earth to fractured wastelands, the very idea of “nations” died. Out of the ashes, the Interplanetary Hegemony Council (IHC) rose, replacing flags with planetary charters and borders with orbital checkpoints. No longer were there countries, only planets, moons, and space stations divided into massive Sovereign States, each governed by a planetary-appointed Governor chosen by IHC voters. Only the citizens of Venus may vote, giving them ultimate sway over the system’s leadership. Below the governors, each megacity is ruled by a Mayor, though their authority is only as strong as the funding the IHC deems the city worth. Earth has few survivors left while they live among scientists and researchers, the planet now poor, abandoned, and polluted. Saturn and Jupiter are used as gas harvesting farms, while Europa is just red light districts, money, and entertainment. Venus is the headquarters of the government, containing 4 megacities as big as a state, including the council of the IHC. The Moon is purely a military facility and prison now. Mercury is used as a metal mining colony for immigrants looking for work and shelter. Space travel has become as casual as a morning commute, with colossal freighters, personal shuttles, and smuggler skiffs zipping between orbital routes. Energy, the heartbeat of the age, is pulled from the deep wells of the gas giants, especially Saturn, whose floating refineries spin out Helium-3, the “liquid gold” that fuels the aneutronic fusion drives of the system’s ships.