History of Earth
Earth itself is thriving pretty much peacefully under one governing rule. Corruption is at a minimum. It's learned some renewable energy practices but are not completely reliant on them. To make up for its expanding population, new land masses were synthetically created in the larger areas of uninhabited ocean, and in addition have expanded some colonies to Mars and Venus. With Earth's population being at peace for decades, military use has been divided between the (seldom necessary) defense against alien threats on their world, and (more commonly used for) space exploration.
The Space Exploration and Colony Inhabiting Expansion Service (SpECIES), is a privately owned organization dedicated to the discovery of, studying of, and travel between the celestial bodies within and outside of the solar system. The focus of the organization transformed from the terraforming and colonization of Earth's sister planets to discovering new planets rich in non-renewable resources. In the years of these practices, SpECIES has made contact with three (You can changed this number Anne) new races of varying intelligence, and from the information available, have mined a modest amount of resources by strict permission of the planet's natives either by trade or other types of negotiation. The unique jobs in terraforming, colonizing, and/or contacting a planet's natives is commonly filled by Earth's military. The basic survival and combat training, as well as the discipline received by these soldiers make excellent personnel for the exploration of new territory.
Last month, SpECIES discovered a planet in a neighboring solar system like their own. The first planet they have ever seen with a large surface area of water since the Earth. The standard procedure are as follows:
First, SpECIES studies the planet remotely using complex telescopes for a minimum of seven days, giving personel a wide variety of information about the planet including the planet's standard day and estimated standard year cycle (using the points from the first and last day of observation, the speed and angle of travel are able to give SpECIES enough information to estimate how long it takes the planet to orbit it's sun). This observation also allows SpECIES to witness any planet instability like sudden climate changes, as well as any surface life that appears in their field of view.
Second, SpECIES sends an unmanned computer about the size and shape of a closed umbrella in an area where life activity has been observed to be seldom. This machine remains stationary and gathers physical information about the planet including temperature, remotely identified air samples, soil samples, moisture samples, vegetation samples, as well as panormatic photos, and so forth for another seven days. In the case of this new planet, where water covers most of it's surface, a second computer about the size and shape of an American football is sent into the planet's ocean to gather physical information and photos of the aquatic environment for the same amount of time. After the computers have finished their information gathering, the circuitry is remotely destroyed using tiny electromagnetic pulses and multiple miniature explosions as brief and quiet as an electrical spark. Within the next seven days, the materials making up these computers will degrade or dissolve into the ocean respectively.
Third, if intelligent life has been identified, SpECIES will attempt contact which has it's own set of rules and standards; in the case of this new planet, various animals and plants were observed but nothing conscious enough to interact with the computers sent.
When these three steps have been completed, SpECIES attempts to establish a temporary base of operations.
The Space Exploration and Colony Inhabiting Expansion Service (SpECIES), is a privately owned organization dedicated to the discovery of, studying of, and travel between the celestial bodies within and outside of the solar system. The focus of the organization transformed from the terraforming and colonization of Earth's sister planets to discovering new planets rich in non-renewable resources. In the years of these practices, SpECIES has made contact with three (You can changed this number Anne) new races of varying intelligence, and from the information available, have mined a modest amount of resources by strict permission of the planet's natives either by trade or other types of negotiation. The unique jobs in terraforming, colonizing, and/or contacting a planet's natives is commonly filled by Earth's military. The basic survival and combat training, as well as the discipline received by these soldiers make excellent personnel for the exploration of new territory.
Last month, SpECIES discovered a planet in a neighboring solar system like their own. The first planet they have ever seen with a large surface area of water since the Earth. The standard procedure are as follows:
First, SpECIES studies the planet remotely using complex telescopes for a minimum of seven days, giving personel a wide variety of information about the planet including the planet's standard day and estimated standard year cycle (using the points from the first and last day of observation, the speed and angle of travel are able to give SpECIES enough information to estimate how long it takes the planet to orbit it's sun). This observation also allows SpECIES to witness any planet instability like sudden climate changes, as well as any surface life that appears in their field of view.
Second, SpECIES sends an unmanned computer about the size and shape of a closed umbrella in an area where life activity has been observed to be seldom. This machine remains stationary and gathers physical information about the planet including temperature, remotely identified air samples, soil samples, moisture samples, vegetation samples, as well as panormatic photos, and so forth for another seven days. In the case of this new planet, where water covers most of it's surface, a second computer about the size and shape of an American football is sent into the planet's ocean to gather physical information and photos of the aquatic environment for the same amount of time. After the computers have finished their information gathering, the circuitry is remotely destroyed using tiny electromagnetic pulses and multiple miniature explosions as brief and quiet as an electrical spark. Within the next seven days, the materials making up these computers will degrade or dissolve into the ocean respectively.
Third, if intelligent life has been identified, SpECIES will attempt contact which has it's own set of rules and standards; in the case of this new planet, various animals and plants were observed but nothing conscious enough to interact with the computers sent.
When these three steps have been completed, SpECIES attempts to establish a temporary base of operations.
The land scanner revealed nothing of import--not even intelligent creatures. All they were able to gather from this location is that it rains forever here, and the trees are gigantic. The ocean scanner... didn't fare as well. While the land scanner wasn't bothered by anything, shortly after landing in the water, the ocean scanner was swallowed by something big. Very big.
SpECIES base was erected on a small island, neighboring a much larger one. This smaller island was open spaced, lacking the flora present on the adjacent island. From their location, operatives are able to view a large lake, fed by waterfalls that appear to fall from the trees. Nothing seems to bother this lake, and it's unclear if anything lives within the water.
So, what happens next?
SpECIES base was erected on a small island, neighboring a much larger one. This smaller island was open spaced, lacking the flora present on the adjacent island. From their location, operatives are able to view a large lake, fed by waterfalls that appear to fall from the trees. Nothing seems to bother this lake, and it's unclear if anything lives within the water.
So, what happens next?
