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(date given according to NEW TRICKS campaign)

       It is remarkable how the Federation has excited so much praise and criticism simultaneously. It is true and obvious that the Federation, of the three inter-planetary governments, is the strongest advocator of rights and freedom. On the same token there exist many problems and corruptions in its government and society. No other society has such levels high crime, violence, or black markets. Pirates fly it’s skies and control a growing underworld. Even the supposed defenders of the freedom often use their power to feed their greed and self-interests. It isn’t the leaders that are the chivalrous heroes, but the pawns.

        Whether it’s holding the thin strands of the government together, or taken advantage of it for their own design, there should be plenty of opportunities for the PC’s to find adventure in the Federation.

        The history of the Federation is as old as space exploration itself. When it was discovered that space exploration was finally feasible, it forced the people of Earth to change their perceptions on life and government. At one blink the world changed from one entirely explored and exploited rock unto many different and exotic planets. At first many countries explored and claimed planets and territory. When several border disputes finally turned into small skirmishes (2084), it was obvious there was going to have to be an organized way of colonizing the universe. Eventually the Apollo pact was signed which stated that no one country could claim interstellar property as it’s own, but that countries had to share the resources according to their investment made of colonizing or exploiting other planets. Smaller nations were given small shares by default. Such a pact able to be signed due to the change of feelings that were occurring at that time, political pressure (the people greatly desired full freedom to explore their science fiction fantasies), and lack of law in the heavens. This agreement formed what was called the Community, a group of planets with a governing body that represented the interests of the people of earth in general. This sudden boom of resources did much to help curb hunger at this time in history.

        By 2093 space exploration had truly exploded. It was estimated that 18 million people lived in space. Lawlessness began again to creep into their lives and it was decided that a larger, more complex government was needed to suit their needs, and after much debate the Federation of Planets was born. Despite complaints of some Earth governments about the similarity of the Federation to American Democracy, the citizens of the Federation proclaimed themselves a separate and new identity from any Earth organizations in 2099. There was little resistance due to a large support by the inhabitants of our world, in fact there were already plans to make the entire planet Earth a part of the Federation. In 2104 our planet had partial membership, and in 2107, the U.S. most of Europe, Russia, Australia, Canada, Mexico, and some South American countries officially announced themselves as complete members of the Federation.

        Eventually, more nations began joining the feds, but not everything was necessarily a bed of roses. The economy flourished and people in general felt more of a sense of adventure and importance in their lives. There seemed to be more understanding within the human race. Unfortunately, there was also a dramatic increase in crime and violence that the Patrol could not sufficiently control. There was also still a lot of suffering and poverty, some of which may have been alleviated in degrees, but it also seemed that the gap between rich and poor was widening. These things angered many people and a terrorist group on the fringes of the universe began to be organized which grew to a substantial power in 2117.

        The terrorist’s true intentions, as well as their true military power became evident in 2129 when they declared themselves a new government and started to take many colonies and planets by force. The Federation was not prepared, as there had never been an interstellar war before (the I Empire War). The terrorists called themselves the Empire and wanted governing to be accomplished logically and without bias by a computer program called the Emperor (version I, although at the time they believed the Emperor would be timeless). Soon both sides began to wear themselves out, and the Federation, while winning back many territories could not recapture them all and called for a cease-fire. The Empire had won an impressive amount of territory.

        The Federation was a very prideful nation (and still is, at any time) and few of the citizens could believe why anyone would want to separate from this science fiction utopia of the Federation. It seemed quit obvious that the Federation could not just let the Empire go.

        It was the Federation that begun the first colonization attempts, starting with the first on Simon and the second on Oz. They planned their colonization efforts on information found in the ruins of the earlier civilization (called the ancients, as they had no name for themselves). Some habitable planets in which the aliens lived in had the wormholes destroyed. The Federation decided to colonize Oz first (Simon was reached first even though the colony ship was sent later) as the Federation scientists believed that the secrets of the other dimension in which the ancients used to space travel would be discovered in part there (they were right, the wall between the two dimensions seem very weak there). Soon the Federation was able to make plans for their own more limited wormholes.

        In 2204, a time of great political tension, the Federation decided to go to war again with the Empire in the II Empire War. Much more prepared and fueled by patriotism, hurt pride, and the misdeeds of the Empire, they started to find great success. It seemed the fall of the Empire was eminent. The Federation had to make peace with the Empire when a much stronger force threatened them on the other side. Sol-Tek had proclaimed a huge chunk of territory for their selves and named them self a new interplanetary nation.

        The Federation was only able to recapture a few planets back before they had to call it quits in 2235. Devastated and their ego hurt, the Federation returned to it’s day-to-day business. The Federation never completely healed and there still remains much bitterness between the different governments that has been growing ever since then.

        The Federation of the three governments is the most open to new ideas and the most diverse. The Federation is the most tolerant of alien races and the mystics. The citizens in general believe that they are becoming transcendent and that any other government influence destroys the progress of human development to varying degrees. It is the Federation that will explore and colonize just for the sake of knowledge and learning and discovering new ways to live. The federation offers it’s citizens many freedoms and under most circumstances, fewer restrictions than the other governments. There is however a large amount of crime and piracy in Federation space. It is difficult to enact stricter laws, as a population of people who are terrified of restrictions and loss of freedoms will not pass many of them. The citizens have developed the habit of just ignoring the problem or taking advantage of it for adventure.

        There is not total freedom in the Federation, as corruption of government officials and patrol officers seem to be a problem. Sometimes certain freedoms are "pole-vaulted" by powerful entities that want to take advantage of the citizens or hide secret information.

        It is also in the Federation where some of the Old Earth cultures are preserved.

        The military of the Federation depends largely on the (interstellar) Navy. It is generally assumed (and usually correctly) that if you control the space around the planet, you will eventually win the planet as well.

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