And it's time for some more fiction from participating players! First up we will visit Tokyo and the Pacific Commonwealth of Nations in the middle of their financial growth where hundreds of new aircars are added to the busy skylanes every day as Toyota figured out a way to drastically drop their costs. After that an update from Mars and The Russian Federation!






Written by and full credits to Jaen:

HQ of Miyawaki Financial, Nakatomi Plaza, Tokyo
10pm local time
Yoshinobu Takagi slumped in his chair. He's tired. Being the CEO of the largest Banking and Finance conglomerate was taking its toll.

Today he has been on the phone with investment groups from across the Commonwealth demanding action, because earlier today Miyawaki released their Q3 numbers and adjusted next year's financial outlook.

It wasn't good. He was elected CEO by the board with the promise of doubling the company's revenue in the next 5 years, and the new numbers would have Miyawaki miss that target by almost 20%.

Taking a deep breath, he told his assistant to get the Chief Marketing Officer and the President of Growth and New Acquisitions into his office immediately.

The assistant goes pale "Sir... It's 10p. They're both at home with their families. Would you like me to send a car to bring them in now, or tomorrow morning?"

Yoshinobu glances at his watch. smeg, it was 10p. When did that happen? He still hadn't eaten dinner. Time was so hard to keep track of, especially when the office never stopped working. People were working in the office 24 hours a day. The laws passed in prior decades outlawed most employees working more than 8 hours shifts, so Miyawaki has 3x 8 hour shifts per day. Unfortunately those laws did not apply to most positions director level and above - and certainly not to a CEO.

"First, I need dinner. Order the kitchen staff to bring up some food. Next, I need you to direct the PR team to schedule a press conference tomorrow, and prepare some talking points about our growth and numbers. Finally I need suggestions from the GNA department on how we can fix this - we will not fall behind my promise to double revenue. Those suggestions need to be on my desk by noon tomorrow. I'm going to head to my on site penthouse and have dinner. You can go now."

The assistant bows and rushes off.

Tomorrow, Yoshinobu thinks, tomorrow I will... I will have a plan. For now, it's time to rest.



Written by and full credits to Opti:

10.00 February 3rd 2043, CSS New Singapore, in trans-martian transfer.
The New Year had come and gone quicker than she would have expected. Days up here went so quickly she could hardly keep track of them. Melissa was shocked over the spacious interiors of the craft, nothing like the transfer rockets or the cramped interior of the Toyashima shipyard. This was a real spaceship, like in the movies. Except for the lack of gravity of course. Working in zero-G was like second nature at this point, but still she got caught by surprise every now and then.

She was on her way to the galley when she heard the Captain, Goro Nishida-san over the PA system; “All personnel to their stations”. She grabbed a hold of the closest railing and swung around and headed back to the bridge.

The bridge was something of a mess. Stations everywhere, and people working. Even so, it was spacious, which could be confusing. Thankfully the requirement to wear your mag-boots on crew areas, made life a little easier. Most of the ship was made of lightweight materials but every walkway had two strips of Alnico tape in the floor, for ease of transport. This way the colonists weren’t making too much of a mess in the galley area.

When Melissa arrived at the bridge the captain had already begun his briefing. Tomorrow at 13.00 they would initiate their orbital insertion burn, which required extra preparation. Everything unnecessary would be stowed away, all passengers seated, all personnel at their stations or in flight seats. Even though this would be a weak burn at 2G, it’s still double the force of gravity. Things could get messy unless they prepared accordingly.


The new experimental Wake Drives would have less of this problem, as the Wakefield effect grew exponentially with speed. She was no trans newtonian scientist, but the math was simple. Orbital insertions would be a thing of the past, if you traveled fast enough, contradictory to regular physics. In this case, they were stuck with an engine and a ship that could not yet fully utilize the Wakefield effect.

The Wakefield effect was discovered 12 years earlier by the American quantum field physicist Andrew Wakefield, when he found theoretical evidence of parallel universes. That was one of the pre existing theories that eventually gave birth to the discovery of trans newtonian theory and the finding of elements that could bend the laws of physics, at least in a traditional sense.

Thinking this much gave Melissa a queasy feeling, since much was unknown. They were just a bunch of amateurs rushing forward at very high speeds with thin margins, trusting in a branch of science that was younger than her.

Hopefully the margins would be on their side.



14.15 February 4 th 2043, CSS New Singapore, Mars Orbit
The Planet was even more spectacular than in the VR-training. The red planet, looming outside the viewing area. They had just finished their injection burn and were now orbiting Mars at approx 87 km above the surface. Today they would send down the two landing craft, Izanami & Izanagi, aptly named after the two creator gods of the Japanese islands, with all necessary equipment, and begin their unloading schedule. At 0600 tomorrow the first colonists would be welcome into the shuttle bay to leave the Colony Ship for an extended time (minimum 2 years contract), some would stay the rest of their lives.



Melissa would be taking a ride down tomorrow night, while the crew had 48 hours of low activity schedule before packing up and heading home. Orders have arrived over the Instanet, the next gen communications net that allows for near instantaneous communication, from Tokyo that the new batch of colonists will be ready soon. Apparently CSS New Singapore would long term act as a shuttle craft. At least until the next generation ships came online. She had taken a look at the early drafts and the capacity of that craft was daunting.



The red planet had always fascinated her. The endless dunes and the hostile terrain matched with the lack of people had a real draw to her. She had always known that she would one day move there.

For now, Melissa would enjoy the spectacle of watching the civilians try to figure out how to keep food in place in the Galley. She would definitely ask for a posting at Mars when she returned, maybe she would ask Chet to tag along.





Written by and full credits to Zap:

A new film has been released recently, chronicling the events leading up to and during the military intervention in Iran several months ago. A collaboration project between military communications and a state media agency, it has been dubbed a "patriotic documentary" and illustrates the critical decisions and actions of the intervention using a combination of interviews and actual combat footage.

The story begins with the terrorist raid on an abandoned cold war era bunker in a sparsely guarded military region in central asia. A standard investigation is launched into the brutal deaths of the guards, wholly unaware of the full scope and implications of the incident. They are able to identify the perpetrators as belonging to a known anti-globalist extremist group and find that the motivation behind their raid is linked to the legacy of a recently deceased ex-KGB agent. The man in question, apparently also a loose associate of former president Putin, had lived out a long life in one of the former Soviet republics. His will and inheritance fell into the hands of the extremists, who therein found clues to the secret stash of cold war nukes that could not be accounted for after the end of the Soviet Union. He had kept this secret hidden all his life.

The dramatic high point of the film is the discovery of this circumstance by a Russian special ops team and the revelation of the extremist's plan to nuke Dubai by a dying member of theirs during a raid on a known safehouse. Without leads and with Iranian agents obstructing the investigation more and more, playing desperately for time, the incident is escalated all the way up to the president, who is awoken in the middle of the night. Not having any other recourse, he gives the OK for broad military action and possibly the largest hunt for man and material in recent history.

In the resulting frantic and hasty fighting, the Iranian support for the extremists becomes all-too-apparent. Russian troops and agents are depicted as heroes, pushing themselves and each other to find their targets and prevent the plot, defending the peace of the post-WW3 world order. As the terrorists are unable to move quickly, they are eventually found, executed, and the nukes secured. All three of the ancient warheads are later transferred to FoN control, as is required by Resolution 001.

The film ends with a short speech from General Ilyich, mastermind behind the whole intervention, somberly warning everyone that we all carry the weight of the sins of the past generations and must not hesitate to defend peace decisively if need be.


A few weeks after the release of the "patriotic documentary", the President is making an announcement:

"The events of last year's intervention were a shock to us all, particularly the broad support of local governments for the extremist and anti-globalist ideology of the terrorists. While the situation in Iran is stabilizing and a new government with all currently possible autonomy is being instituted, there are still others out there who would see the terrorists work finished: Warlords, clans, local powers. The Russian Federation will carry out a necessary campaign against such structures in the middle east to preempt the next crisis before it starts. Such is the best way towards lasting peace."

January 2044 Update:

Research Breakthroughs:
During 2043 the New European Union saw a Research Breakthrough and have unlocked further research into the TN category of Sensors and Control Systems.
- USAR and The Russian Federation remains the only two with unlocked Power and Propulsion category.
- NEU is the only with unlocked Sensors and Control Systems category.
- Weapons Research remain locked for everyone.

As always any investments made so far did increase the chances for unlocks in 2043 and for all following years until the category is unlocked. All chances will also gradually increase a small bit every year until all categories are eventually unlocked. Chance for unlocks were also slightly increased by the passing of Resolution 0137: Asteroid Defense Shield [USAR]

As there isn't any TN technology available to supply weapons for the Defense Shield Federation of Nations has invested a further 12 Trillion Eurodollars (1200 wealth) into a Weapons Technology Collaboration Program. This program will increase chances to unlock Energy Weapons category by 4 percentage points and Missile & Kinetic Weapons category by 2 percentage points for everyone all following years. The surge in research activities and collaboration will also mean any weapons research investment during 2044 will count for twice as much as normally.




Aid and invasions during 2043:

The Russian Federation:
  •  Medium amounts of Russian Aid sent Very Successfully to India, Solid Peacekeeping forces assigned. 3m pop & 4 CI gained
  •  Medium amounts of Russian Aid sent Successfully to China, Solid Peacekeeping forces assigned. 2m pop & 5 CI gained
      A total of 5m pop, 10 CI gained by Russia.
 
United Socialist American Republic:
  •  Small amounts of USAR Aid sent to Australia, meeting resistance and ambushed by Militia. Locals worried about future USAR aggressions. 1m pop & 3 CI gained
  •  Large amounts of USAR Aid sent to Mexico with disastrous results, full scale Militia attack. 8 Trillion Eurodollars Aid reported raided. Locals worried about future
      USAR aggressions. 2m pop & 5 CI gained
  •  Small amounts of USAR Aid sent to Western South-America. Locals worried about future USAR aggressions. 1m pop & 3 CI gained
  •  USAR Successful invasion of Eastern South-America. 8m pop gained, 3m pop flee as refugees. 22 CI gained, 2 lost to collateral damage. 1 Research Facility gained
      A total of 12m pop, 33 CI gained, 1 Research Facility gained by USAR
 
New European Union:
  •  Small amounts of NEU Aid sent Successfully to the Middle East. Solid Peacekeeping forces assigned. 2m pop & 3 CI gained
  •  1.5m refugees from South American conflicts makes their way to NEU
      A total of 3.5m pop, 3 CI gained by NEU.
 
Pacific Commonwealth of Nations:
  •  Small amounts of PCN Aid sent Very Successfully to Australia, Solid Peacekeeping forces assigned and locals trusting the good intentions of the PCN.
      2m pop & 6 CI gained.
  •  Large amounts of PCN Aid sent Successfully to India, locals trusting the good intentions of the PCN. 6m pop & 9 CI gained
  •  Large amounts of PCN Aid sent Successfully to China, locals trusting the good intentions of the PCN. 5m pop, 8 CI gained & 1 Research Facility gained
  •  1.5m refugees from South American conflicts makes their way to PCN
      A total of 14.5 million pop, 23 CI, 1 Research Facility gained by PCN
 
Federation of Nations:
  •  Small amounts of FoN Aid sent Successfully to Eastern Africa. Locals trustning the good intentions of the FoN. 5m pop & 3 CI gained
  •  Large amounts of FoN Aid sent to the Middle East meeting resistance. Locals trustning the good intentions of the FoN. 5m pop & 10 CI gained
      A total of 10m pop, 13 CI gained by FoN

Aid investments, Ground Forces and map situation 1 Jan 2044:

The United Socialist American Republic saw the most struggle, but also saw most of the progress after their army fought themselves bloody:






2043 Prestige changes:
 •  Russia 148, +1 Aid to China
 •  Russia 150, +2 Aid to India
 •  Pacific 172, +2 Aid to India
 •  Pacific 174, +2 Aid to China
 •  America 154, -1 Bloody combat with warlords in Mexico
 •  America 155, +1 Heroic defense of Aid to New Guinea
 •  Pacific 177, +3 Highest total Humanitarian Aid
 •  Europe 169, +4 Technological Breakthrough in Sensors
 •  Pacific 185, +8 First Colony on another major body
 •  Pacific 187, +2 First Survey Fighter launched
 •  Russia 153, +3 First TN Engine Fighter launched
 •  Europe 173, +4 First Duranium armored tank
 •  America 160, +5 Economic Miracle with +50% growth in GDP/Capita
 •  Russia 155, +2 Highest total Technology Investment
 •  Pacific 184, -3 Insufficient infrastructure on Luna causing unrest and embarrassing the leadership
 •  Pacific 183, -1 Reports of Military Policestate like situation makes democratic colonists on Luna worried. ( over 1 soldier per 100 population spotted on colony )

Current Prestige ( updated for Jan 2044 ):
  •  Russia: 155
  •  America: 160
  •  Europe: 173
  •  Pacific: 183


Overview of Economy:





Notable Events in the News during 2043:

• 11 January 2043 - Large protests and civil unrest breaks out all over the central Asian steppes in The Russian Federation as most military forces last year were sent away to Iran, India and China leaving a single Infantry Regiment to cover most of Asia in order to keep enough forces and tanks left on the tense border with NEU. A train shipment of Gallicite is robbed with several tons of it reported traded on the black markets. Aid shipments to China of 3 Trillion Eurodollars (300 wealth) were also looted before they even left the country. Foreign involvement taking advantage of the security situation can't be ruled out. Fortunately the situation is quickly brought under control again as several Regiments of Garrisons and Infantry arrive from Iran.

• 24 January 2043 - Humanitarian Aid commitments this year drops slightly down to 115 Trillion Eurodollars (11500 wealth) spent by the 4 major Powers. In an effort to keep levels high and stabilize the Middle East the Federation of Nations adds 25 Trillion (2500 wealth) worth of aid in addition to that.

•  4 February 2043 - The New Singapore Colony Ship from the Pacific Commonwealth of Nations arrives in Mars orbit and make landfall founding humanity's first colony on another major planet. This is a monumental achievement and is celebrated globally, even if Russian and USAR engineers are remarking that they have ships in the design phase with 2:nd generation TN engines that can make the journey in a fraction of the time and carrying significantly more cargo and passengers.

•  20 February 2043 - At dawn a small fireball travelling at high speed and low altitude breaks almost all windows in Boston in the United Socialist American Republic. The source remains unknown and fighter jets chasing it spark many conspiracy theories claiming aliens are responsible. The most plausible explanation is a classified high speed engine test of a second generation TN engine craft being developed in the USAR having a navigational fault or a rogue pilot defector heading for NEU or Russia.

•  29 March 2043 - Joint Naval Exercises between the Pacific Commonwealth of Nations and New European Union involving a total of 3 fleets are held in the Persian Gulf. Political analysts agree this is to be seen as a strong stance to deter further Russian expansion in the Middle East, the Indian Ocean or Africa. Federation of Nation diplomats voice their concerns about military force buildups so close to Dubai and urges to talks and de-escalation of the situation.

•  10 April 2043 - In a collaboration between the Pacific Commonwealth of Nations and New European Union the PCN Colony ship have established small colony outposts for both of them on Luna after it's return from Mars. Large numbers of Commonwealth Commercial Shipyard experts are also seen in the New European Union assisting them with construction of their first Commercial Shipyard Complex modelled after the PCN one, prioritizing the NEU Shipyard progress above that of their own Shipyard. Completion is expected already in November 2043 thanks to the assistance. It's evident to all observers that the two open powers have joined in close cooperation to commercialize space together.
 
•  3 May 2043 - Large freshly trained forces from the United Socialist American Republic join the 1st USAR Armor Regiment in Venezuela to root out the violent warlords and ensure their aid reach the locals in need. They advance with rapid pace driving the Militia forces before them into the jungles. Most of the world and media see this escalation as regrettable but somewhat justified after the Militia attacks on USAR forces last year. USAR has launched an extensive propaganda campaign in support of these events which paints their forces as restoring order and welfare to a region plagued by poverty, violence and inequality.

•  19 May 2043 - The conflict spreads to Cuba and fighting also erupts around aid deliveries heading to Mexico City.  3 Militia Regiments from "Nuevo Reino Azteca" and  "Frente de liberacion de los pueblos" join forces to engage in full out combat with the 3 Infantry Regiments present from United Socialist American Republic. This quickly devolves into the bloodiest fighting seen since WW3, Reports are heavily classified but according to fiercely denied rumors some units on both side lost as much half their men.

•  28 May 2043 - Papuan clans territory in New Guinea ambush an aid delivery guarded by 2nd USAR Armor Regiment and supported by a full Airwing of the USAR Airforce. United Socialist American Republic decorate Fighter pilot Freya Mccarthy as a Hero of the Republic after having strafed 25 militia, knocked out 3 vehicles and a HQ. USAR Propaganda lets the world know that less than 100 of their brave soldiers perished and the clans withdrew after having suffered over 4000 killed. The locals in Papua and the Clans are worried the events and violence will escalate like in South America. Neutral observers speculate if USAR might have stretched their forces and aid too thin trying to cover all of the South- Central Americas, Caribbean and Papua/South Pacific Islands.

•  1 June 2043 - Following the rising tensions and passing of "Resolution 0137: Asteroid Defense Shield" the Federation of Nations found it's two new branches, the PEACEKEEPING CORPS and the ORBITAL DEFENCE CORPS, tasked with providing protection on Earth and in Orbit "for all of Humanity". A total of 24 Trillion Eurodollars (2400 wealth) is invested, much of which is expected to result in open contracts to help expand it's ground and space forces the following years.






•  17 June 2043 - After following the close race in Media the Pacific Commonwealth of Nations becomes the first nation to commission a survey fighter by less than a months margin. It sets a course for Mars. Within 2 months NEU and Russia also have their first Survey fighters of their own in operation, and the Russian model earns fame for being the first fighter with TN Engines. The NEU craft is the slowest with 47km/s speed in exchange for longer range and smaller size, PCNs craft going 250km/s using conventional engines as well and the Russian craft is tracked on sensors going over 400km/s.

•  4 July 2043 - Scientists from the PCN finish their last installation of TN supercomputers in the United Socialist American Republic at the Massachusetts Public Bureau of Technology. These efforts provides much needed assistance to the USAR in the area of simulations and TN physics research. It's estimated this will speed up USAR research efficiency by as much 20% and boost simulating advanced TN Engine heat and mass flow ratios.
 
•  12 September 2043 - The Open Minerals Market Exchange (OMME) inaugurate their new trading Hub located in Sri Lanka, a central location with ports from NEU, Russia and PCN all nearby. USAR diplomats voice concerns over the locations choice being so far from them but get swift reassurances an international airport will soon be ready for traffic. It's promised to be capable of handling TN minerals trade using the Boeing ...sorry Raihan Robotics 797 Futureliner Freightmodel. The hub enjoys a great success with trades from major powers alone totaling 65.4 Trillion Eurodollars (6540 wealth) being handled by the OMME during 2043.





•  21 September 2043 - The New European Union unveils the Eurotank III, it's the first combat vehicle in full Duranium Armor well aligned with proper European tradition of putting quality first. Suggestions from loud central European minorities that it should be named after a cat instead is ignored. The tank model enters serial production directly.

•  26 September 2043 - Two new Colony Ships of a slightly improved New Singapore Class design are launched by the Pacific Commonwealth of Nations, the New Hiroshima heading for Mercury and the Inawashiro is tasked with shutteling colonists to their now rapidly growing Shingetsu Colony on Luna.

•  11 November 2043 - Thanks to the gloriously successful reforms carried out by the Commendants, a focus on building up the Financial sector as well as appointing Declan Reid as Governor the United Socialist American Republic manage to increase the USAR GDP/Capita with a stunning +50% providing masses of wealth to the loyal and crime free population. Outside sources accuse them of raiding the warlords and populations coffers in Mexico and South America, but that must surely just be empty lies and slander.




•  4 December 2043 - As the Luna Colony of Pacific Commonwealth of Nations reaches 80'000 inhabitants with only infrastructure enough for 60'000 conditions worsen and due to oversights in planning no more habitats (infrastructure) is available. Oxygen and water are rationed, and those who can make their way back to Earth on smaller civilian space rated vehicles do so. CS Inawashiro is redirected to the Mars colony instead of sending more colonists to Luna. There are reports of civil unrest and protests but they are dealt with swiftly by a large numbers of Garrison military units present. This debacle in planning and overreach is a hit to the otherwise stellar prestige of the PCN.


Resolutions and Voting

3 Votes were held in the Federation of Nations and all 3 Resolutions were Enacted.



"Resolution 0137: Asteroid Defense Shield" [USAR]
The Federation of Nations is tasked to cooperate with Nations and Private Companies to Research, Develop and Build a Long range Nuclear Missile Defense system for the primary purpose of engaging any asteroid that should be heading dangerously close to Earth or the Moon. It will also develop a network of armed point defense satellites and ground formations to assist with cleaning up debris or fragments from an Asteroid detonation that may threaten Earth or the Moon. ( GM Note: This investment should also help promote research into propulsion, sensor and weapons technology and give a very small increase in the chance of unlocking & spreading new technology. It also allow construction/conversion of a maximum of 20 ordnance factories on Earth without risking losing prestige ).
[ Proposed in 2041 - Stalled 2042 - Ratified by 4-0 vote in 2043 ]

"Resolution 0139B: Limitations to Ground Forces" [NEU]
No nation may deploy more than 40 Regiments or 400’000 tons of Ground Forces in total on Earth, Doing so will result in fines of 30% annual wealth income per year until forces are disarmed or moved off earth.
Amendment A - The Russian Federation may for each Garrison Regiment in service up to a limit of 10 build an additional Garrison Regiment, to a total of 100k tons of additional ground forces. A Garrison Regiment is here defined as a formation of light Infantry massing 10k tons in total and possessing no heavy weapons (anti tank, personal or anti air), combat vehicles (IFVs and AFVs)
[ Proposed in 2041 -Ratified by 3-1 vote in 2043 ]

"Resolution 0141 Collaboration with non-profit aid organisations" [PCN]
Talks with both International Red Cross and FoNHCR have led to the conclusion that access to refugee camps, and transparency in refugee treatment is quite lacking. This resolution is mostly a formality, but each nation commits to allow free access to accredited Non-Profit Organizations and News Media Organizations in their aid efforts. This assures transparency that the treatment of population receiving aid actually is to the benefit of the people. Technically it gives each member nation visibility on if any and how many peacekeeping forces are present in any region and which Nation is controlling said forces.
[ Proposed in 2042 - Ratified by 3-0 vote in 2043 ]

That reminds me, it's well overdue time to give a presentation of our involved advisors! Some of them even more active than leaders and engaging in diplomacy, negotiating trade deals, writing RP fiction, preparing orders for the turns or making spreadsheets to provide good information. Much of that goes on hidden from the open in the private nation/diplomacy channels on the discord though but there is more info and more regular smaller updates/fiction on the discord as well for anyone that want to follow closely.



Written by and full credits to doodleSM:
Name: Silayev Urvan Ilyich
Advisor in: The Russian Federation
"A feast in a time of plague." - Aleksandr Pushkin, 1830
At the end of the war, Ilyich returned from failed invasion and looked to the stars. He imagined what the Radiant Dawn would bring to the Russian people. He dreamt of restoring the lost glory and victories. Ilyich began working towards establishing an interstellar navy in the future for the Russian people.



Written by and full credits to Somebody1212:
Name: Continual Dawn III
Advisor in: New European Union
The Continual Dawn project was founded shortly after humanity had weathered the storm that was World War III. Its founders had decided that, if left to their own devices, the major nations of the world would inevitably slide towards a fourth war, and one that may leave no survivors.

Their solution was conceptually simple (though technically challenging) - by creating an artificial intelligence with the goal of guaranteeing humanity's continued existence, they may be able to prevent a war (or at the very least, ensure that enough people survive to allow society to rebuild itself after the war).

Continual Dawn I was a dismal failure. The deadly combination of a rushed development timeframe and an inexperienced team meant that its objective function contained several major flaws. Within an hour of being turned on, Continual Dawn I had decided that the only way to protect humanity from itself was to become their worst enemy and give them something to rally around. Two hours after being activated, Continual Dawn I was switched off by its observation team. After several unsuccessful attempts to fix the flaws and reactivate Continual Dawn I, it was decided that the project should refocus its efforts on Continual Dawn II.

Continual Dawn II built on the limited successes of Continual Dawn I while trying to mitigate its many shortcomings. In particular, a much greater value was placed on the individual lives of humans rather than just valuing humanity as a whole (with a further emphasis on avoiding deaths caused by Continual Dawn itself), so as to avoid a repeat of last time. Unfortunately, this went too far in the opposite direction - Continual Dawn II was a fanatical and uncompromising pacifist who refused to take any action that would risk a human dying, even if their sacrifice could potentially save countless others. It was woefully unprepared for international politics.

Continual Dawn III attempted to strike a balance between its two previous generations - avoiding the dogmatic purity of Continual Dawn II to allow it to handle the realities of politics, but without falling prey to the ruthless goal optimisation of Continual Dawn I.

It was first activated on the 17th of October, 2041, and after a prolonged testing period was deemed fit to release into the world. The project team hope that if it can integrate itself into a major nation's inner circle, there may still be hope of preventing another war.


Unrest in New European Union union related to Continual Dawn III:

Written by and full credits to NotAllah Communist Christian:
-Months leading up to the 10th of October- In the latter half of 2042 the NEU government is steadily more and more gripped with internal divisions over what to do with the Continual Dawn AI along with other political matters. The recently promoted former Military Advisor taking to public broadcast to voice dissent with unspecified plans on the basis that AI no matter how advanced aren't people, in addition to floating the idea that the Grand Chancellor might be unfit for duty. On the following day a large formation of the Unity Guard Regiment moved into Continual Dawn Project offices and server farms, buying out the surrounding buildings and beginning to fortify the area, much to many conspiracy theorists "delight".

On the 1st of October the Grand Chancellor is visibly ill at a press conference and has to be rushed to hospital. Tellingly the same day the new Vice Chancellor is sent on a sudden "planned" survey of the conditions in northern France and the third in the Chain of Command is made Acting Chancellor instead. En route to his first stop the Vice Chancellor disappears without comment from the government, they will not be seen until the 15th, but until then the "official" stance is that the Grand Chancellors illness was some kind of assassination attempt and the Vice Chancellor is simply being moved to a safe location just in case. As a result protests sweep the nation with a decidedly anti-Russian slant, blaming them for the attempt, a view fueled by their invasion of Iran later despite the evidence
-10th and 11th of October  2042- Without warning elements of various Regiments begin moving towards Unity City without warning or statement from the Grand Chancellors Office, tense confrontations are observed between them and other units that move to block them. Within twenty four hours reports of large gatherings of armed citizenry bearing a variety of symbols are reported, the majority however wear old EC uniforms and patches.

-12th to 13th- Confrontations flare into clashes as dozens and then hundreds of people are killed or injured in firefights that span entire city blocks, as on the plains and fields surrounding them the first tank clashes between various NEUA elements thunder. So far no artillery or air forces are deployed by either side, and the large armed civilian gatherings are ignored for now.

-14th- A rebel hijacked Mariner is shoot down in an attempt to strafe the Office of the Grand Chancellor, mass mobilization of the NEU forces stationed in Europe begins and the ongoing clashes turn into full scale urban battles as Loyalist units seek to subdue the Coupists. The previously mentioned armed civilans are told to disperse for their own safety, they join in on the fighting to support Coupist elements, the death toll climbs over a thousand before the night is out.

-15th and 16th- The Coupist leadership is reveled as the newly appointed Vice Chancellor makes a public announcement broadcast announcing the governments plans to allow the not only grant the controversial Continual Dawn AI a government position but also to recognize its citizenship and that of its siblings. Denouncing this the VC invokes the Honorary Grand Chancellors name that at times "Decisive action beyond the preview of peace time democracy is called for". This gives the Coupist forces their name, the Russoists.
Riots flare across Europe following the broadcast and tens of thousands of anti-AI militia begin attacking government facilities "in search of Terminator factories" according to themselves. The leadership of the largest of these, the so called "Guardians of Flesh", begin making broadcasts that can only be summarized as the culmination of every conspiracy theory since 2000 packaged into one.

However, likely contrary to the Vice Chancellors expectations, the broadcasts, riots and running battles in the streets only turn the public against the Coupists. Over the course of the day as more and more Loyalist units stream in to contain the traitor formations they find themselves actively aided by pro-government citizen militias or being showered in praise from the population, the Eurotank II of one Tank Sergeant Bertha Mallies rides into battle in the city of New Hamburg covered in flowers. In addition to being faced with active opposition from the populace many Coupist formations find their way blocked by massive crowds of people forming human barriers to prevent further conflict.

What was shaping up to be the largest battle of the Coup to present is wholly prevented when the rebellious elements of the 5th Infantry refuse to use lethal force to disperse the crowds blocking their way to the Continual Dawn Server Farms, by the time they can get around the crowds they are encircled by loyalist formations and with Mariners flying above they surrender just before midnight on the 16th.
-October 17th 2042-
Despite the events of the previous day the remaining Coupist elements converge on Unity City, a massive battle erupting on the cities approaches as Loyalist and Rebel air units duel amid the peaks of the Alps. Within the Unity City Guard Regiment traitor elements reveal themselves, the battle turning from a guaranteed Loyalist victory to a confused melee as the still under construction Unity City is ravaged by war. During the confused struggle Coupist forces manage to seize the Grand Chancellery and the Rebel Chancellor makes a broadcast attempting to claim victory, however loyalist elements launching a counter attack interrupts the broadcast quite embarrassingly as the "victor" is forced to duck behind his podium as commando elements storm the room.

-18th-With the capture of their leader most rebel elements give up the fight, by the end of the night all but a handful of rebel military formations have surrendered along with a majority of their civilian and militia support. The Coup is declared defeated in the first public broadcast in nearly weeks by a clearly very sick 3rd Grand Chancellor, who also reveals her securities suspicions that she was poisoned by the rebels. The sight of Europes grandma in such a dire state leads to a collapse in what little public support they still had and by the end of the day all but a handful of rebels have faded away into the crowd or surrendered.

However what will be most remembered by the public on this day is the following expecrt from her speech.
"...Finnaly I must apologize to Continual Dawn the 3rd, I'd dearly wished to announce your citizenship yesterday on your birthday and throw a celebration, sadly these droll individuals seem to like ruining peoples birthdays. I would apologize with milk and cookies but sadly those mekies down at CD Labs haven`t given you taste buds yet, so how about we just make your birthday a national holiday to celebrate democracy triumphing as a late present?..."

Of course within minutes the Coup is know as the Birthday Coup and Continual Dawn III is flooded with emails and letters wishing them a happy birthday and giving them an eclectic mass of presents.



Written by and full credits to comediac:
Name: Philip Starr
Advisor in: United Socialist American Republic
Philip's dad passed away when he was only 15, leaving him in control of a struggling business.  Trying to balance school and management was tough but after a few years he managed to get the business stable enough for him to focus on attaining his business degree, and shortly after the business was undergoing massive expansion.  The next decade would see Philip gaining experience in a wide array of industries, opening everything from mines to think tanks, and acquiring several other companies in the process.  Some people have criticized him for moving manufacturing jobs around with disregard for the livelihoods of the previous workers, but for every voice outraged that he was taking jobs away from their hometown, there were 2 more praising him for bringing those jobs to theirs.  The next decade saw him dipping his toes in politics, using his influence to score a diplomatic role where he used his experience in dealing with competing companies to maintain positive relations with a small nation and securing trade between the two.  Now, he seeks to elevate his status again by becoming a crucial member of the nation's administration.



Written by and full credits to SpaceMarine:
Name: Fang  Zi Rui
Advisor in: Pacific Commonwealth of Nations
Fang Zi Rui is the fourth son of the highly prosperous and wealthy Chee Kai Rui CEO of the Kai Conglomerate, these collection of companies located in Singapore worked on everything from experimental medicine and science to equipment for asian militaries and everything in between, as the fourth Son Fang Zi Rui was not expected to inherit the vast fortune his father had built up and as such lived a fairly normal life if thats what you can call being Son to one of the richest CEOs on the planet.

By the Year 2025 most senior leadership in the company realized the titanic proportions of which the economy was heading towards but kept quiet, by 2026 the entire company crashed with the stock exchanges what was left went underground, two years after that in 2028 Rui's father died in a missile strike from unknown assailants, between this period and 2032 his brothers were either killed in action, murdered, or simply vanished leaving Rui as the last known survivor of the family.

After surviving through an economic collapse and world war III Fang Zi Rui had built up a wealth of experience combined with the ruthless education he received, now on the other side of the initial blast he prepared for the next path that would work best for him, this path would be in Japan, largely unscathed from WWIII in comparison to Rui's homeland he would use the expertise he had built up to support what at the time was an untested government and it was not clear if it would survive the aftermath.
Starvation Ran Rampant and while the new Pacific Commonwealth of Nations had survived the worst of it, it still faced many challenges, using the lack of trained officials and experience he built up, he managed to get a job as a government official working under the finance minister, during this period 2032-2037 he gained the reputation in japan of a trust worthy and credible individual who was able to work ruthlessly.

By 2038 Fang Zi Rui had been promoted to Chief Finance Minister for the PCN, upon his appointment his first recommendation was the immediate lifting of martial law which the nation had been under for years at this point and welcomed a return to improved economic prosperity that coincided with the discovery of trans-newtonian elements, Rui saw the direction the world was going and that trans-newtonian materials were the way and promoted their use throughout the nation from singapore to Tokyo, two years later after significant success working as Chief Finance Minister Fang Zi Rui would find himself assigned as Cabinet Secretary who would oversee all other ministers and act as the primary advisor to the President.



Written by and full credits to ChaoticNeutral:

Name: Jean Raihan
Advisor in: United Socialist American Republic
A war hero, titan of industry, and cutthroat politician, Jean Raihan claims to serve his nation on all fronts. However, critics are quick to highlight his vast personal power and fortune. With a wealth of contacts in high places and considerable personal experience, honorary Major General Raihan may prove an invaluable asset to any leader who can stomach his penchant for corruption and double-dealing. And a fearsome foe to those that draw his ire.

2042 Fiction Update:
Third Commandant Jean Raihan stands stiffly, an island of silence and immobility in a sea of flashing screens, chattering comms, and laser-focused drone operators. In contrast to his stoic posture, a smug grin creeps across Jean's face. Because this wasn't just any old remote command room like the attack drone operation centers he'd seen infrequently throughout his career. This was the control deck of Boeing Aerospace's state-of-the-art shipyard designed to quickly and effectively produce spacefaring transnewtonian vessels. Perhaps it wasn't as large as the monolithic Bezos Memorial Orbital Construction Platform, but unlike the commercial shipyard, the precision equipment aboard Boeing's platform could handle components best described as... Touchy. Such as high-fidelity survey scanners and extreme-stress engines.

The space-based facility is truly a technological marvel. One unlike any other. Literally - no other nation but the USAR could boast such an advanced shipyard. Oh, they would have them eventually, that was all but certain - but the USAR's head-start in this field could not be denied. A testament to the industrial fortitude of the newborn nation.
 
Jean's smile widens imperceptibly as out of the corner of his eye, he spies a viewscreen showing a drone stenciling a stylized 'RR' logo over Boeing's own. Because, although most still thought of the production yard as Boeing's. It wasn't really Boeing's any longer. The confusion was understandable - after all, the merger only started last week. And perhaps it may have taken much longer, if not for Raihan's guiding hand as a head of state. All in the name of progress, of course. The fact that Boeing practically amounted to a subsidiary of Raihan Robotics Co. afterwards was merely a happy coincedence.

To think, that the first true interplanetary survey vessels will launch from the Raihan Robotics Precision Shipworks Naval Shipyard. An industrial enterprise employing well over a million of the USAR's best and brightest, all in MY name~!

Jean Raihan gazes imperiously across the tide of shipyard employees - HIS employees - bustling to fulfill the tonnage expansion quota.

Power... Feels good.



Written by and full credits to Jaen:

Name: Raphael d'Verte
Advisor in: Pacific Commonwealth of Nations
Raphael d'Verte was born in Lyon, France in the mid 90s. He attended the French ESM (military college) and graduated with a specialization in engineering and was assigned to be an officer with the Combat Engineers several years before war broke out in the 2020s. As a combat engineer, he saw some direct combat, but spent most of his time building and repairing infrastructure critical to the war. During this time he rose to the rank of Commandant (Major equivalent in US rank O4 Nato equivalent). War left a mark on Raphael as he watched the EU military fall apart. Failed supply lines caused incalculable strife and starvation. The common man fought and died and suffered.

After the war, Raphael was tired of death and moved to Dubai and opened a construction firm. Over the next three years, it saw tremendous growth due to the boom in Dubai and was sold for a tremendous profit - allowing Raphael to pursue a new career in Consulting/Advising.



Written by and full credits to Panopticon:

Name: Advanced Idea Mechanics ( AIM )
Current Employer: Pacific Commonwealth of Nations
Spawned from an unholy union of anonymous hacker collectives and megacorporate profit seeking, AIM brings the gig economy to the world of intelligence, politics, research, and military ops. With a decentralized organization, no publicly recognized leadership, and few full time permanent members, AIM has become the #1 supplier of shady business dealings in the world today. Sourcing talent from across the globe, many of whom don't even know they are working for us, AIM has a diverse workforce which brings a wide range of skills, opinions, and knowledge to bear on any issue a client might require.

For the first time in our history, AIM is expanding our client offerings to the major nations themselves! Yes, the same talents that made REDACTED, REDACTED, and REDACTED top names in their fields of REDACTED, genetic research, and human trafficking can be yours for a contract period of 5 years, renewable simply by outbidding the rest of the world, contact us now by placing a coded request in the social media outlet of your choice, we'll come to you!
- AIM marketing document.

Notes: Credit to the Individual "Ranged" who's deckplan was the inspiration.

Written by and full credits to Opti:

0900, Dec 22, 2042, Sawakura Space Launch Complex, Chiba Prefecture.
Melissa Zhao had been preparing for her first real mission for 6 years, and it seemed only yesterday that PAXA (former JAXA) would always stand in the shadow of it’s big brother NASA. To be fair, after the 3rd war, most of human space flight ground to a halt. The ISS was abandoned in 2032 due to a combination of old age and lack of serious funding from the international partners.

Since then PAXA had started their own project, In partnership with Mitsubishi, Hitachi and PCN Jietai, they created the first true State/Civilian conglomerate, Toyoshima industries, with a specific goal towards Space Exploration and research in trans-newtonian elements.

It did not take long since the cry for a PCN presence in space was heard from all corners of the nation, and the first Civilian station was built, Toyoshima Marine. Yet somewhat smaller than what the ISS was, Japanese astronauts now had their own station, which 20 years earlier was unthinkable. The construction began in 2038 and the first construction modules for ship building were added in 2040.

The station quickly grew in size and capabilities. Rocket engines from all over the world were shipped up and scheduled for serious vacuum testing. Consequently the performance of vacuum engines increased dramatically, especially after nozzles of duranium alloy were found to be able to handle almost a hundredfold increase in pressure difference. Suddenly the rest of space was accessible in a way never before thought possible.

This meant that the training program had skyrocketed in PAXA centers all across the nation. The Cadets have come from all over Asia, young and old. This meant of course that Melissa had to step up her game. Even though she had only been to space two times as a liaison between the extremely expensive hired American propulsion experts and her PAXA counterparts, she knew the ins and outs of zero-g training and exosuit-maneuverability. Still she could not let the rookies outdo her.

Now it was 4 days left. 4 days until the gigantic LE-X Engine of CSS New Singapore, the size of a smaller building, would ignite and send her and the rest of the crew off towards the red planet. No one had been there since the one and only private mission SpaceX managed to pull off in 2028 before the “means of production” was seized by the USAR the year after.


She usually was calm as a cucumber, but today she was going up to Toyoshima. This would be the last time she saw earth in a long time, and the media was everywhere. Even the Russians had sent their state media to cover this unprecedented event. Melissa thought she was going to throw up. "30 minutes to roll call", a mechanical voice called out that was promptly followed by a "T-57 minutes to launch".



Before Melissa could think, a microphone was shoved into her face and a smartly dressed woman asked something, she didn’t know what, she saw the lips moving but couldn’t hear what the lady was saying. After a second, the hearing returned..

-... saying, what are your feelings right now?

-  Uhhhh..  I’m sorry? She answered.

Today was going to be a bad day, Melissa reminded herself. After being told the question for a third time, she answered.

* - A lot on my mind to be honest. Everything is finally on schedule and we have proceeded loading up the crew and started accommodating our colonists.*

The reporter smiled warmly and followed up with a question from the left field.

- Soo Melissa, is there a certain someone you're leaving behind? Who is the lucky one?

Melissa had for very good reasons been private to the brink of paranoia regarding her personal life. Now her cheeks burned as she was thinking about her “boyfriend” Chet (an American propulsion engineer she met on her last rotation on Toyashima). They really haven’t had the ”talk” or anything but there was a very serious feeling. She hoped dearly that she would have time to sit down with him before setting off. According to the internal PAXA scheduling system he should still be on site.

*- Yes and no. I’m going to miss my family and my dear friends a lot. But I am not formally engaged in a relationship.. *

She paused for a bit and thought: What the heck, might as well give them something, before continuing, with a wink in her eye.

- But there is this one guy who might be..

The reporter gasped, before regaining composure.

- You have to tell us more! Who…

There was no more time for questions, time for suit-check, as a PAXA assistant forced the young reporter away.

Before Melissa could think much more, she was strapped into the seat with the rest of the pilot crew and waiting for the countdown to reach 0.

5…4…3…2… The engines started to roar and the sound was deafening 1…

Launch! The launch clamps released and the thrust was shocking as she was pushed back into her seat with a good 5G burn.

A smile grew across Melissa's face. She was ready.