2020: Private corporations lead the way into space. During the 20’s almost all space launches will be conducted by private companies.
2036: First permanent colony on the moon. The colony is primarily funded by corporations and is intended primarily for research, support of further exploration missions, and tourism. Earth-bound governments are increasingly focused on internal politics and external conflicts and have largely left this arena for the private sector.
2047: First colony on Mars, again funded by private corporations.
2100: The last of the remnant national governments falls and the new Corporate Federation is announced at Davos. The Corporate Federation is a union of the 100 largest corporations on Earth and Luna and represents an immense amount of wealth. The Corporate Federation isn’t really a government, it began as more a framework for the corporations to resolve differences between themselves and the small regional successor governments that manage the day to day affairs of most people. The Corporate Federation announces that with the end of the era of big governments diverting funds into national competition and away from investment in the future, that vast new investments in the exploitation of the resources available in outer space will be made to enrich every human regardless of national origin.
The mood of the people is decidedly anti-nationalism and anti-military, after the troubles of the 21st century, and they welcome the new age of prosperity and stability promised by the Federation. These attitudes are matched by the corporate elite that run the Federation. For the most part the elites of the corporate world are very progressive and believe that nationalism and militarism both were natural outgrowths of the old order and also ultimately destroyed it.
2109: Tollsen Global Security Services attempts to take over the Federation in an abortive coup. Fortunately, they act before they are ready and the bulk of the Board of Directors escapes to organize a resistance. Once they realize their attempted bloodless (nearly) coup has failed, rather than initiating a bloodbath, the top echelons of Tollsen attempt to flee and the coup collapses before too much damage is done. This coup cements the nascent anti-military leanings of the Federation Board of Directors and strict limits are placed on the size of military corporations and the armament they may possess. Heavy weapons and large troop formations are limited to the largest corporations and the Federation Board members. The Corporate Federation does not maintain a “national” military, nor does it feel the need for such an organization. The attempted coup by Tollsen, which was largely staffed by the survivors of the remnants of the old military organizations, merely confirms this attitude.
2123: Sarah Allan, CEO of Space Systems, Inc., is appointed by the Corporate Federation’s Board of Directors to the post of CEO of the Federation. This post is largely ceremonial and merely places her as first among equals. The CEO’s position has been referred to as the Federation’s “chief negotiator”.
2125: The Corporate Federation announces the development of Trans-Newtonian technology at the joint Lunar research station at Copernicus Colony.
The Corporate Federation begins with a 5 billion population on Earth and small colonies on the Moon, Mars, and Ganymede. None of the planets or moons have been surveyed for TN resources, and the Federation does not know about jump points or interstellar travel, yet. The Federation has a fairly large shipyard in orbit, but the bulk of the yards are civilian, not military.
