Please take note that this page is FAR from being completed and some of this information may change so only read if you are very bored or are trying to make time pass at work. Thank you --REE

Please take note that this page is on occasion altered by me, and sometimes I don't have the presence of mind to let Ree know so she can verify it against her version of this world locked up in her head, so if you read something and next week it's totally contradicted by something else, it's my bad. --LOIS

In The Year 1020 ....

Today's astronomers are right in saying that we are not alone in this universe. Today's sci-fi writers are right in saying that the denizens therein are any combination of xenophobic, expansionist, exploratory, greedy, friendly and curious. What no one is willing to consider is that humanity is a disjointed combination of all of the above. And we're too clever for our own good, to boot.

In 1020, humans are the cockroaches of the universe. After centuries of eugenics and heavily tweaked nanotechnology, humans live for centuries (it's likely millennia, but humanity's history as a space-faring race isn't long enough to verify this), don't get sick, not even a sniffle, have no allergies, have a difficult time getting drunk and once there, staying there, and can't use cybertechnology at all. If you try to kill a human it takes instantaneous and catastrophic methods to make sure it sticks.

This makes them kind of unpopular with a lot of other people sharing the galaxy. But because humans have applied their ingenuity to things other than medical sciences, they have a powerful military. And as humans are wont to be, they're expansionist. And you know what it's like to rid a kitchen of expansionist cockroaches.

In order to allay the fears of the rest of the galactic populace, the Alien United Front was formed. Sort of like the UN, the AUF is a council of planetary and racial leaders that have jursidiction over universal laws and disputes. However, many see the AUF as a farce since most of its members are human. It frequently has to move its headquarters due to ... insistent and persistent opposition.

But what world of political intrigue would be without its scary unseen force? In 1020, a shady group called the Whispers supposedly control everything from humanity's highest leaders to the the clan generals of opposing racial armies. Many people think the Whispers are a colony of humans with really great political pull, but in reality the truth may be much more frightening: some say the Whispers are a cult of millions, bent on controlling the last true commodity in the universe -- technology. Scientists of varying races and political affiliations will vanish wihtout a trace, just days before an astounding breakthrough, never to be heard from again. There are constant rumors that the Whispers are seeking interstellar conquest, and there's just enough substance to the stories that circulate to make most militaries gear up for some kind of invasion.

However, rigorous interstellar and interracial trade has helped keep technology open and well developed throughout the galaxy, though covert activities -- often attributed to the Whispers -- make advancement from where technology currently stands nearly impossible. But the best is made of what's out there -- from plasma technology to force fields, from cybernetics to weaponry, from bioengineering to photonic manipulation.

Ultimately, though, the atmosphere is one of brandished smiles over hidden suspicions. For those who believe the Whispers are real, there's no respite. One's best friend might be a Whisper. For those who don't believe in such a huge conspiracy, the world is full of double-crossers, corporate types who sell out their companies for a song, political rebels waiting for a chance to try for the next big utopia. Add to this a number of races with ideas and social mores completely alien to human minds -- even ones as advanced as these -- and the galaxy is, at the very least, an interesting place to be.