Prologue
Earth, 2130
The history of the First Confederation in fact goes back almost a hundred years prior to the formal beginning of the Confederate government. In 2130, a young French-English scientist named Hiram Eugene Gellar was working at the Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules in France. The Institut was doing pioneering work in anti-matter and string/counterstring physics, but it took the imagination and creative urge of young Gellar to take the work to the next level.
Gellar inhabited an Earth in transition, eighty years after the Third World War. The United States remained the planet’s primary power, having retained an almost two-century primacy in economic and military might. Sub-Saharan Africa had been devastated by brush wars and plague, China’s population was recovering from the Chinese Civil War, and Russia was once again emerging as an economic power following huge oil and power metal finds in Siberia.
Europe was in many ways still recovering from the Third World War, but France – now a state in the European Community – was becoming a center of physics research, mostly aimed at exploring alternative energy sources for a world rapidly running short of resources.
Gellar’s invention would very quickly change everything.
– Morris/Handel, “A History of the First Galactic Confederacy,” University Publications, 2804CE
Following are selected excerpts from Morris/Handel, “A History of the First Galactic Confederacy,” University Publications, 2804CE, and selected news media from the Pre-Galactic Era.
Morris/Handel: 2041-2044, the Third World War
While the international tensions that led up to the Third World War are generally accepted to have begun with the destruction of the World Trade Center in New York City on September 11, 2001, the base causes of the conflict began long before. Decades of instability in the oil-rich Persian Gulf nations along with a persistent religious fanaticism rooted in the area had given rise to a number of extremist/terror groups dedicated to spreading chaos through the region and, early in the twenty-first century, around the world.
Following the September 11th attack, the United States – by then Earth’s only major military power – reacted swiftly, invading and crushing the southwest Asian nation of Afghanistan. Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban government had provided resources and refuge to the group behind the September 11th attacks. The overthrow of the Taliban followed two years later by the overthrow of Iraq’s dictator, Saddam Hussein, started a democratization trend in the Middle East that spread to Saudi Arabia and Syria in the next forty years. Democratization did not, however, spread past those four nations until after the Third World War.
July 14, 2041 saw another major terrorist attack, this time in Paris. The Bastille Day bombing attacks killed over 4,800 Parisians, and destroyed the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triumph, along with several newer buildings and landmarks. The European Union, then a reluctant partner in the West’s attempts to democratize the Middle East, promptly voted to authorize sending EU forces to Iran, the nation that sponsored the Bastille Day attacks. August 14th, 2041, when elements of the US 1st Marine Division, 82nd Airborne Division, and the EU’s First Parachute Division landed in Iran, is generally accepted as the first day of the Third World War.
Transcribed from Fox News International webcast, December 9th, 2044:
“Thank you, Lisa. It’s an exciting moment here in Brussels, where the leaders of the Allied Powers are gathered along with the leaders of the defeated Central Alliance, to sign this historic treaty. Details of the treaty have not yet been released, but one source confirms that one clause stipulates free, open, internationally monitored elections in the Central Alliance nations are to take place within one year. Just entering the hall now, we can see the President of the European Union, the President of the Russian Republic, and the President of the United States…”
Morris/Handel: Peebles Mining Corporation, Earth
The Third World War drained not only the defeated Central Alliance, but also the victorious Allied Powers. While Earth’s population was still increasing in the developed and developing nations, ongoing brush wars and plague in Africa and the aftermath of the war in the Middle East had rendered much of those regions uninhabitable, and their resources inaccessible. Ever-expanding technology, however, was making new sources for vital materials economically feasible for the first time.
At least three private corporations were involved in the first wave of exploration into the Sol system. Peebles Mining Corporation was the largest of these. Peebles financed almost one-half of the first International Orbital Station and shipyard, and from there, and their bases on Luna, ran mining operations to Mars, the asteroid belt, and as far out as the Jovian satellites.
The key to the economic feasibility of off-planet mining lay in Peebles’ construction of the first of Earth’s five Skyhooks. The Quito Skyhook was a carbon-fiber tower, based on a mountain in the Andes and tethered to a captured asteroid in geosynchronous orbit. The Skyhook Station enabled Peebles’ huge mining ships to offload their cargoes into barges that descended to low Earth orbit. The barges then docked at the Station, where refined ores and mineral products were lowered to the surface by magnetic freight car.
But still Earth’s population continued to grow, and advancing technology made the demand for resources ever greater. By the beginning of the twenty-second century, Earth’s demand for mineral resources was fast approaching a crisis level.
Associated Press, Denver, Colorado, USA, September 23, 2136
A privately owned spaceship, designed here in Denver and built in great secrecy in a closed dock on the International Orbital Station, now promises to change the way humanity looks at the universe.
The Lever de Soleil departed the Station fourteen days ago, and was observed accelerating at an unprecedented rate; Luna City Tracking and Traffic control reported that the ship was accelerating at a logarithmic rate.
“It was impossible – at least we thought it was impossible,” said Andrea Martins, the senior Duty Controller at Luna City, who was on watch at the time. “No known drive system can accelerate a big ship like that – not chemical rockets, not ion drives, not reaction motors. And there was almost no drive signature. We didn’t have any idea what was happening.”
The world found out what was happening this morning, when the Lever de Soleil returned to the International Orbital Station from the Alpha Centauri system. The crew of the ship brought back petabytes of data from the Alpha system that revealed the existence of three rocky planets in the habitable zone. While all three planets are barren and sterile, one of them shows signs of great mineral resources.
The question is now one of economics. Will Gellar Systems Enterprises, the Lever De Soleil’s builders, be producing more ships? Or will the design be licensed to other shipbuilders?
In either case, the entire economic picture of the Sol system has just been irretrievably altered.
Morris/Handel: Gellar Star Drive
If one man can be named as having had the most significant effect on human history in the modern era, that man would be Hiram Eugene Gellar, inventor of the Gellar Star Drive. The Gellar Drive made interstellar flight not only possible but also practical and launched mankind on its greatest era of exploration and discovery. The stage was now set for humanity’s expansion into what was to be the first Galactic culture.
To see more of Animal’s writing, visit his page at Crimson Dragon Publishing or Amazon.
Love it. Thanks, Animal!
You wonderful nuts are going to get the whole 100,000+ word book, in segments. Just because I love y’all.
Three serialized novels concurrantly?
What sort of site are we running here?
Awesome! And thank you!
Yay!
In 2041, won’t France and the UK be Islamic Republics?
And Fox News will be long dead. 😉
It depends whether Europe can defeat Trumputin in Ukraine.
You see that new German chancellor? He looks like he couldn’t defeat the lid on a jar of pickles.
What the Europeans are going to do the Mohmmadans is going to make the 6 gorillion look like a local independent women’s wrestling match. The longer the elites continue to keep pushing the invaders from shit stain countries, the worse the explosion is going to be. If mass repatriation doesn’t start soon, when the switch does flip, it’s going to get gnarly.
There’s an old joke that applies:
Q: Do you know why there are no Muslims on Star Trek?
A: Because it’s in the future.
So there really is hope for the future.
I’m still puzzled by the “population kept increasing” bit personally… that doesn’t seem to fit the available data.
I wrote this in 2005-2007; I wasn’t as conversant with demographic data. It’s fiction, go with it.
So let it be written — so let it be done.
Mmmmm. Sarah Michelle Gellar.
I kept thinking Uri Geller. It is a magical drive!
I kept thinking 40k’s Geller field – to protect the ship from Daemons.
Fastest heel-turn ever? New kraut leader says he was just kidding when they promised to close the border.
https://x.com/daily_romania/status/1894064046795591781
I thought he didn’t say that, the AfD did — and he said that the CDU wouldn’t work with the AfD regardless of the vote — only forming a coalition of non-“conservative” parties, hence why I expected Jack over Sheisse to happen.
https://www.eugyppius.com/p/cdu-and-spd-condemned-to-betray-their
What’s the over/under for how long until any coalition collapses?
My question is – Will the Germans keep at this until AfD has an Absolute Majority?
Right now you could make an argument for the re-partition of Germany (AfD dominated the eastern portion).
2041, won’t France and the UK be Islamic Republics?
Islamic PEOPLES Republics.
Combining the very best of Marxism and the Religion of Peace – with substantial nuclear arsenals.
I wonder how long nuclear weapons remain actually workable as high-yield devices when left unmaintained.
Sure, the conventional explosive starter charge might go off and scatter radiactive material, but if it doesn’t go off just right, you don’t get fusion/fission.
Kristy Swanson > Sarah Michelle Gellar
Discuss.
Nothing to discuss, that’s just a statement of fact.
Kristy Swanson + Sarah Michelle Gellar
Might as well throw in Supergirl era Helen Slater while you’re dreaming there, JI.
Given the other two have the Buffy connection, shouldn’t it be Eliza Dushku?
Now, if I’m really dreaming, we’re adding (Career Opportunities era) Jennifer Connelly.
(Career Opportunities era) Jennifer Connelly is just ridiculous.
Shit, pretty much any era Jennifer Connelly works – she looked great in Maverick.
I’ll be in my bunk.
Eliza Dushku, Not my cup of tea. The others are great, she appeared to be built like a 14 year old boy from the head down.
Jennifer Connelly however!!!!
Sigh…
Alyson Hannibal above all , thank you very much.
Tough call. SMG has always jiggled my handle. Hard to argue with Kristy, though.
The Duckette
Currently, I’d say it is Norman Borlaug
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Borlaug
Elon Musk is also a contender.
Borlaug yes. Musk…we are kind of at the ‘we will see’ stage.
Does it have to be a positive effect? Marx has had a hell of an effect on the modern world.
Rousseau if you want to go a level deeper.
Supergirl eraRuthless People Helen SlaterOh, my.
Thanks, Animal!
With the Pope Death Watch in effect, I imagine the internal factions within the Roman Catholic Church are ramping up the intrigue regarding the next pontiff. Now I’ m sure whoever wins will be seen as God’s choice, but I wonder which factions – commies or strict catechism thumpers – have the upper hand this time?
I hope it’s a Catholic next.
Commie Popes are the worst.
It’s time for a Baptist Pope.
Heck yes! No more dancing and drinking for you f*ckers!
Pope tart would make a good breakfast.
It will be interesting to see if they go with a “transition” Pope or someone in it for the long haul. My gut is telling me we’ll get a black Pope from Africa.
That might not be a bad thing, the African Bishops/Cardinals tend to be more conservative/traditional and not infected with woke.
Let’s get Mel Gibson to take a vow of chastity and get him sworn in or whatever the fuck it is that they do.
Would enjoy the drunken ranting about the Vatican machine.
The Papacy has been vacant since Benedict was forced out.
Nightmare
Elevated mortgage and loan interest rates, exploding home insurance premiums and rising property taxes in many parts of the country, as well as higher costs for energy and eye-watering costs for home maintenance works have flipped the dream of owning a home into a nightmare for many Americans.
Homeowners who had assumed their properties would become valuable assets and provide security described their homes as “money pits” and “financial burdens”, and said they felt stuck in homes they could barely or no longer afford, with insurance, taxes, utilities and maintenance now often costing more than people’s mortgages.
——-
Anxious about her property taxes eating up funds she will need for her retirement, Angela has been exploring a move to a rural area with a lower tax burden.
“But those very rural areas tend to be more conservative. This nation is so divided, I might be totally isolated in some of these places,” she said.
Just as long as you have your priorities straight.
I’m sure if she just points out how they’re wrong, those ignorant rubes will come around.
Owning your home is a terrible idea. The government should own all the housing and rent it to people at affordable rates. It works in England.
Rent? Housing is a right. You should get your 10×10 living pod for free.
Look at mister mcmansion over here. your pod will be a shared 8×6 space.
If there’s a toiletchair and a TV that plays Ow My Balls I’m in.
Don’t forget the telescreen for mandatory exercise. Universal healthcare means the government has the right and duty to minimize costs.
Food and humor in the Stalinist mode.
I’m pretty sure Japan makes a toiletchair that does anything to your balls you want it to.
Did you already forget about the study showing too many extra bedrooms in privately held houses?
Excess bedrooms. They are not extra. You make it sound like y ou can have as many as you like.
Q: Is it time to replace the hard drives in your NAS when they have a bit over 113,000 hours?
A: Yes. It occurs when you suddenly think, ” when did I put that thing together?”
They are running in an old Synology DS413. Problem is that no modern home NAS drives are qualified for it anymore. Since you have to punt – you figure let’s try some “as generic as possible” and select Seagate IronWolf 4TB drives.
You discover that thanks to everything having to be as green as possible that this old NAS likes to query the drives and spin them up out of their green standby mode. This results in pulling the heads in and out of specific parking mode. The drives have a lifetime “load/unload cycle count” of 600k operations. On 30 hours of operation with new drive I have just over 2,900 load/unload cycles. Thanks for saving the planet Seagate!
Furiously Google around. Waste approximately 2 hours. Locate the command line tools called “SeaChest”. Spend another hour installing the tools and reading the documentation. Pull the drives out of the NAs. Rip the cover off my PC and gain access to a SATA port and SATA power cable. Shoehorn the 4 NAS drives 4 different times.
Spend another hour sending a bunch of cryptic commands to each drive’s firmware to remove all the green head parking and spindle power down timers. Replace the drives in the NAS an reassemble my PC.
We now wait to see if I did this correctly and the load/unload cycle count stops increasing at an exponential rate. I’m really not a fan of computers anymore.
Ugh. Almost as bad as the WD SMR customer screw.
That sounds just as horrible as figuring out why you can’t dim a laptop screen in Linux. My condolences.
*checks*
~ 63,000 hours per drive.
MTBF is 1,000,000 hours.
Where are you getting the load/unload cycle counts?
Ah. S.M.A.R.T. Load_cycle_count, I assume? 670 or so, per drive.
I think I’m good.
Yeah, SMART.
Keep in mind that my drives are over 12 years old. The MTBF may be 1M, but specified life for most is 6 or 7 years.
Just about 7 years for me… now you have me slightly concerned.
However it looks like still plenty of supported disks for the DS918+, even though it’s discontinued.
Reading Ironwolf datasheet. It says they are rated for 8,760 power on hours per year. Do you have to shutdown for leap day?
That one doesn’t count!
I have a pair of terrabyte solid state memory drives in a RAID 1 (mirroring) set up.
I do not need huge amounts of storage. And I got tired of spinning disks failing.
Did you already forget about the study showing too many extra bedrooms in privately held houses?
Ooh, I smell a mandatory housing lottery. It’ll be just like college.
I misread that as “masturbatory housing lottery”.
Too much SugarFree exposure.
Unpossible. There’s no such thing as too much SugarFree exposure.