Background (Interplanetary Map Game)

This is a Timeline leading up to the events of Interplanetary

Five million years BCE - 1700 CE

 * Hundreds of naturally-occurring wormholes open up across the globe, causing the gradual colonisation of Triteia, the mars-sized, resource-rich, habitable satellite of Nerites. By the Holocene epoch, as the wormholes began to collapse, humans arrived. By 1700 CE, the last wormhole, the one located in the Gobi desert, had finally collapsed. The only existing evidence of anything from Triteia is a mention of Sanfotsi  (三佛齊), which was the Old Chinese term for Kara. (The Hands of the Gods is connected to Interplanetary)

2015

 * The Russians begin various airstrikes on Iraq and Syria, as well as launches of cruise missiles from the Caspian Sea. The US-led coalition accuses Russia of targeting the Western rebels rather than ISIL.
 * The Paris Conference on Climate Change occurs with no deal being reached.
 * The EU begins processes to distribute and control the flow of refugees from the Middle East.
 * The Taliban begin to make a resurgence in Afghanistan.

2016

 * Jeb Bush is elected the 45th POTUS.
 * The Minsk II Accords break down as heavy fighting once again begins between the Ukrainian government and Russian-backed rebels.
 * The Russian Duma votes to allow military forces to be deployed into Syria and Iraq to assist both governments in the handling of ISIL.

2017

 * The US government makes its own military intervention in Iraq and Syria to put a stop to ISIL, separate from the Russian effort.
 * A new cartel rises in Chihuahua, Mexico called the Dark Angels, and begin fighting against the Mexican Government and the Sinaloa and Los Zetas Cartels.
 * Riots explode across Europe as the refugee crisis worsens by the minute.

2018

 * The UK votes to leave the EU.
 * The SLS is launched, with an unmanned Orion MPCV to conduct a circumlunar orbit.
 * The Dark Angels begin to cause various problems across the Mexican-American border, and heavy fighting in several border towns between Mexican government forces, US police organisations and the Dark Angels, along with other Cartels causing trouble in the region.

2020

 * ISIL is effectively crushed in the Middle East, as Al-Raqqah is assaulted and Abu Bakr Al-Badghadi killed in the process, along with most of the ISIL leadership.
 * Afghan government forces fight to a bloody stalemate against the Taliban.
 * The rapidly spreading force of the Dark Angels begin to become problematic, with the Sinaloa and Los Zetas trying to do something about the problem. The two other cartels decide to fight the Dark Angels on their own terms, but without an appropriate coordination, they can do little to stop the Dark Angels.
 * Boko Haram, following ISIL's demise breaks away from their remaining leadership, as the US and Russia begin mopping up the remains of ISIL.
 * The Asteroid Redirect mission is launched to asteroid 2008 EV5.
 * The Yemeni Civil War, which had been raging since 2015 ends in the victory for the Hadi government forces.

2022

 * After a serious accident, Hitoma Kaniochi becomes the world's first cyborg. This gains controversy from various religious groups, as human modification technologies become a new focus.
 * The SLS follows another launch to the moon, this time in a retrograde orbit with astronauts onboard, after a delay following a problem with the weather on the original launch date.
 * In the UK, calls for another Scotland referendum occur, as the Scottish Independence Movement continues to gain tract, despite the failure of the 2014 Scottish Referendum.
 * The Russian military officially launches an invasion of Ukraine through Crimea, and within 2 weeks, Kiev falls, with Petro Poroshenko being killed in the process. This turns the nation into a Russian client state under a newly restored Yanukovich.
 * The Syrian Civil War results in the Balkanisation of the country and the collapse of Syria, with rebel-held territory becoming Kurdistan, along with Iraqi Kurdistan, and Damascus controls the south of the former Syrian Arab Republic, with the rest being taken by the Islamic Republic of Syria.

2023

 * The Europa Multiple Flyby Mission is launched.

2025

 * The process of redirecting 2008 EV5 into Lunar orbit begins.
 * Research on quantum computers and optical computers accelerates, as Moore's Law begins to fail.
 * The last remains of ISIL are completely eradicated.
 * A small group of military commanders, dissatisfied with the Mexican government's efforts at eliminating the cartels stage a military coup, which ends with the government fleeing Mexico City, and loyalist forces staging a counter-coup. The Mexican Civil War begins, with the Cartels taking advantage.
 * China surpasses the US as the largest economy on Earth.

2026

 * The SLS is launched to the Moon to rendezvous with 2008 EV5 and attempt to extract valuable resources from the asteroid.
 * The US Congress votes to intervene in Mexico to assist loyalist forces, after a year of fighting and refugees flowing into the States.
 * A UN report states that global levels of oil production are beginning to decline as population growth becomes unable to cope with the increased demand for petroleum. However, they also note that despite this, renewable energy is becoming far more efficient, along with 2nd generation nuclear technology and even going as far as proposing fusion energy as a solution.

2027

 * Equipment is launched to Mars preliminarily to prepare for the arrival of future human explorers to the planet.

2029

 * Moore's Law officially fails. The computer industry suffers a period of stagnation at this point, as markets crash worldwide. This event begins to be called the Shutdown of '29.
 * Global average temperatures reach 293 Kelvin despite the world's best efforts.
 * China becomes the 2nd Nation to send a human being to the Moon, although the first human colonies are still far from being established.
 * NASA begins the construction of the Deep Space Habitat, with plans updated to include a NERVA engine and a nuclear reactor, and replace the Solar Panels with radiators.
 * Skylab II is deployed into the Earth-Moon L2 Lagrange Point after years of reschedules, delays and funding problems.

2030

 * The first mission to inhabit Skylab II is launched.
 * Global average temperature reaches 289 Kelvin, resulting in increasingly erratic weather and resource shortages in some areas, although these are not serious until later in the century.

2032

 * Bangladesh begins to suffer from excess flooding, spiraling the country into chaos and causing the biggest humanitarian crisis in human history, along with the flooding of the Maldives.
 * Various Pacific territories band together into the Pacific Confederation to coordinate efforts to protect their nations from climate change.

2033

 * The Deep Space Habitat completes construction. Days later, the SLS launches Exploration Mission 5's crew inside an Orion MPCV to dock with the Deep Space Habitat, and when they do, they set on course for a 3-month journey to Mars.
 * The first optical computers are released, although they turn out to be commercial disasters, due to significant system problems.
 * A referendum held in Darfur allows them to become independent, sponsored by the Sudanese government in a way similar to South Sudan.
 * The US population begins to turn against the interference in Mexico, with anti-war protests exploding across the country, and some even escalating to rioting.

2034

 * Early in the year, the crew of the EM-5 become the first humans to land on Mars.
 * China, quick to step up its international prestige following 2029's successful Lunar landing begins its own manned Mars Exploration Program, and begins development and research on more efficient ion thruster variants. Its first mission is expected to be launched as early as 2045.
 * The world's first quantum computer is developed and becomes a commercial success.
 * The world's first designer babies are born. With a lot of negative reception coming in from religious groups, and with the rapid advent of cybernetic modification, the UN begins consider creating restrictions on the technology.
 * The Fourth Taiwan Strait Crisis occurs later on in the year.
 * The US effectively withdrawals from Mexico due to lack of popular support of the war.

2035

 * China begins the invasion of Taiwan, and quickly takes the island. Though facing mixed responses from the international community, the UN does nothing to stop the fall of Taiwan.
 * Following the fall of Taiwan, the US and other Pacific nations consider forming the Pacific Defence Coalition, in order to prevent Chinese influence from expanding.
 * The EU begins to break apart after years of tension between the nations of Europe, as nations begin to make their own similar organisations on a smaller scale, such as the Germanic Union, and the Mediterranean Economic Community.

2039

 * The South American Economic Union is formed between the nations of Argentina, Brazil and Chile.
 * The Mexican Civil War effectively ends with a government victory, in spite of lack of popularity in the US.

2040

 * In response to the ever-growing membership of the Pacific Defence Coalition, China decides to form the Eurasian Pact.
 * Following various disputes between the former EU members, they begin to gradually withdraw from NATO in protest of the US's increasingly incompetent leadership.
 * India begins to catch up to China economically and politically, following the Taiwan Strait Crisis, and with some former British colonies, and the UK itself, decides to form the New Commonwealth of Nations, or the New Commonwealth.
 * China in response to the rise of new political alliances forms the Eurasian Pact with Russia, Iran, Damascus, and various other governments across the globe.
 * Unit 001287 becomes the first AI to pass the Turing Test. This causes fear amongst the general public, and the nations of the world decide to sign the UN Treaty on the Modification of the Human Body and Artificial Intelligence or the Modification and AI Treaty of 2040. The move is widely criticised by transhumanists worldwide, with Humanity+ going as far as jokingly calling it the "Technological Stagnation Treaty".

2042

 * Heavy fighting begins along the Nile River for control of the region's remaining water supply.
 * Global average temperature increases to 290 Kelvin with sea levels being rising by 43 cm since the beginning of the century.
 * Various developed countries begin construction of large barriers to protect major cities.
 * Venezuela finally descends into civil war between government forces, and the pro-Western rebels.

2045

 * The world's first Deuterium-Tritium fusion reactor opens in Switzerland.
 * China effectively launches its Taikonauts to Mars, effectively becoming the second nation to send a human being to Mars.
 * The world's population reaches 9 billion.

2048

 * As climatic changes continue to wreck havoc on planet Earth, a global humanitarian crisis begins, with various refugees moving from climate ravaged areas to less affected areas.

2053

 * The US Latino population in the Southern States has greatly exceeded the white population.
 * Global average temperatures reach 293 Kelvin as the permafrost begins to melt, releasing methane into the atmosphere.

2055

 * The flow of refugees northward forces the US' hand, as the US asks to peacefully integrate Canada into its territory to secure enough fertile land and obtain a safe haven for refugees fleeing from the south.
 * The UN Climate Refugee Treaty is signed by various nations, as conflicts across the globe begin exploding over various resources.

2060

 * As the international crisis continues, and technology continues to progress in some areas and stagnate in others, some look to the stars for an answer. This is where you lead, young leader. Now go forth and decide the future of your nation.