Kerbin has a long (and quite frankly, mostly rather dull) history. For centuries, its lands were split up into many small city-states, where people lived a simple, if poor life. However, as technology progressed and kerbal leaders began noticing the vast tracts of land owned by their neighbours, more and more cities began carving out empires for themselves. Eventually, the entire planet was dominated by empires.
This imperialistic worldview eventually led to a massive, planet-wide war. Tiny border skirmishes snowballed into horrendous conflicts which left vast swaths of land uninhabited. The global war culminated in a nuclear strike terrible enough to collectively awaken all to the futility of continuing the fighting.
However, for many, it was too late. Like shattered glass, the world's great empires crumbled. The only governments strong enough to pull together these broken realms were the United South Kolus Kerbals (USKK) and the Confederacy of Kolus and Firesvar Nations (CFKN). The rest of the planet is made up of tiny, independent, poor city-states. These want nothing to do with either of the big nations, as they are inherently distrustful of any large nations since the war.
Each nation does not trust the other to keep Kerbin peaceful and free, so they have each built up arsenals of weapons to dissuade one another from trying anything. However, this buildup of military forces has led to a 'cold war' of sorts (or as the students of Kerbin like to spell it, 'Kold War', much to the annoyance of teachers).
Since neither side wishes to enter full-scale open warfare against the other, each side instead relies on propaganda to ensure that the people remain faithful to their home country. Misinformation is the name of the game, with each side believing that the other is an evil dictatorship, bent on world conquest. Neither country allows their citizens to communicate with the other nation, perpetrating this belief. However,
Immediately after the war, millions of kerbals were left without homes or places to go, particularly some very prominent scientists. Recognizing an opportunity, the USKK put into motion Operation Stapler, a plan to put those scientists to work for the government.
And it is now, some years after the end of the war, that this plan bears fruit. The venerable Werhner von Kerman, a master of theoretical physics and rocket design, has discovered a new dimension. He realizes it could change the entire course of history, and rushes to share it with the world…