Tuesday, September 16, 2008

On Terra

No-one has seen Earth or the Solar system in almost a thousand years. After the techs conquered the world (see supra), they quickly realized that the Earth was on the fast track to environmental ruined, and resolved to leave. When the Gates went down, there were two take-home points:

1) the colonization of the Heliosystem was carried out by humans, with a small number of techs managing them (they could do it with small numbers, given the fact that they had super-strength, psychic powers and all that jazz). The humans were able to defeat the techs comparatively easily, and there are none in the heliosystem. Additionally, such technology is not only forbidden, but is anathema to the social consciousness. It's not something that's secret and some people are doing anyway--everyone's smart enough to know not to do it. Additonally, the lack of working on it for a thousand years means that it's questionable whether anyone could build a tech in the 35th century.

2) the solar system was so strip-mined in the effort to get to the heliosystem as quickly as possible that it's almost impossible that the techs left behind could build a new gate to seek revenge, or that they'd last long in what was left of Earth or the other planets. Those humans that were left behind knew they were going to die.

Today, few remember--let alone talk about--Earth. How many people today know about history a thousand years ago? In the initial years after the exodus there was debate over whether to eventually build another gate to return to Earth and rescue those left behind. It was decided that to do so would be suicide, as it would invite the remaining techs (if there were any) to return. The thinking was as follows: if there IS anyone left alive on or around Earth, they can't travel to the heliosystem, because they can't be sure there's a gate there. In other words, it would be a one-way trip. So, if people from Helios traveled to Sol, one could expect any remaining Terrans to immediately arrive in the heliosystem in a very angry, pissed off way. Best not to open that can of worms and just leave the whole thing alone.

Terrans are something of legend at this point, about of relevance to their life as England ca. 900ad is to yours. That said, they whole reason everyone's in the Heliosystem is because the techs took over the whole planet and used everyone as pack mules to build the new system. Getting back to Earth is physically impossible; the two mini-Gates that service the system are about the size of a small city, and took the formation of the HCTA and 60 years to build. In contrast, the Terra Arcanus, one piece of the original Gate that served as the connection to Earth (a similiar Gate existed in Sol... both were destroyed during the Rebellion, sealing off both systems from one another) is the size of Manhattan Island.

True, some argued to return, especially those parts of all the major religions that believe parts of Earth to be especially holy. Today, such groups are limited to the moon of Olympia. Again, this is a debate long decided, and isn't talked about much. It's not like kids wake up after having nightmares that the Solar Angels have come to kill them.

"Terran culture" is a whole field of study in the heliosystem; there are those that are fascinated in the subject, and even some that continue to insist that contact should be made. At this point you, the reader, have about as much information about Terra and the subjugation as the average member of the heliosystem (save the odd bedtime story and skip-rope rhyme).

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