Timeline: The Advent of Humanity 2030-2413
"There are those who have accused Humanity of being a Monopoly; that statement is incorrect. Humanity has never sought to be a Monopoly, there is simply no one capable of competing with us." - President Helena Vidal, Systems Alliance.
May 22nd, 2030: UNS Ares and her crew of forty enter Martian orbit, a combined effort of Earth's G20 Nations, the Ares represents a new age of peace and cooperation for Earth's people.
May 25th, 2030: Altaira Cevantes becomes the first human to walk upon the surface of Mars, planting the flag of the United Nations in Utopia Planitia. Her first words upon walking the surface "Behold, the people are as one, and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do," reach seven billion viewers on Earth.
June 22nd, 2037: The first Artificial Intelligence, ATLAS, is brought online.
July 20th, 2069: Armstrong City is officially incorporated on Luna as the first permanent settlement on Earth's moon, on the centennial anniversary of the first lunar landing. Construction on Aldrin, Collins and Copernicus cities begins. Within a decade the Lunar population will be a hundred thousand.
March 31st, 2103: Mars Capita is founded on the plains of Utopia, several kilometres from the site of the original Mars landing.
January 1st, 2110: The constitution of the United Earth Government is drafted; the nations on Earth merge into a united entity, beneath a single flag.
June 2120: Orbital mining begins in the asteroid belt, to sate the endless demand for resources back on Earth and her colonies.
April 2165: The population of the solar system reaches twelve billion inhabitants, with 1.5 billion humans now living on Luna, Mars or in spaceside colonies. Construction of the Panama Space Elevator Begins.
July 2208: Oil surveyors examining the Chicxulub Crater on Earth (Site of the asteroid impact responsible for the E.L.E. that wiped out the dinosaurs some 65 million years prior) uncover an alien artifact, later dubbed the Black Marker. Michael Altman, involved with a team of researchers responsible for unlocking its secrets reveals its existence to the public. A short time later under mysterious circumstances, he and most of the research team involved are killed.
August 2208: The Black August. Massive riots in dozens of major cities break out in response to the supposed 'assassinations' of the Black Marker research team. Property damage is in the billions, and three thousand are killed across the Solar System. The UEG is unable to successfully quell the riots.
September 2208: The Church of Unitology is founded, a sweeping social movement based upon the 'teachings' of Michael Altman. In an era of Atheism, Unitology becomes the fastest spreading religion in known history.
April 17th, 2212: Hideki Ishimura successfully invents the Shockpoint Drive, an FTL device that opens up the galaxy to humanity. It is considered to be the greatest discovery in the history of mankind. The first successful shockpoint prototype, the Athena, travels from Earth to Titan in mere minutes.
April 18th, 2212: A second test of the Athena, travelling this time from Earth to Alpha Centauri yields a similar result, the journey of four light years is made in just over an hour, prompting massive celebrations across the Solar System.
April 29th, 2212: Surveys of the Alpha Centauri star system uncovers two Earth-like planets. Arcadia and Utopia, plans for colonization immediately begin.
July 13th, 2225: Colonial transport Spirit of Paradise suffers a cascading systems failure while shocking to Arcadia. The ship is lost after crashing into the jovian gas giant Nessus, with a loss of all thousand aboard. It becomes the worst space accident in history.
December 1st, 2230: Terraforming of Mars is completed; a massive exodus from Earth begins.
September 3rd, 2249: The last drops of Earth's oil are depleted, in the past few centuries; almost all of Earth's non-renewable resources have been depleted, making humanity's homeworld completely dependent on the resources of her colonies.
January 1st, 2260: on the 150th anniversary of the UEG's inception, the Environmental Sustainability Act is passed; limiting the industrialization of habitable worlds. The construction of the Earth Torus is announced, with plans to transfer all industry off of humanity's homeworld by the dawn of the next century.
2297: Unrest in the colonies as more and more resources are routed back to Sol, to fuel extravagant construction projects, such as the ring station in Earth orbit that is now two-thirds complete.
2308: The Earth Torus is completed, for the first time in Human history, more than half of all Humans live off of Earth. There are now fifty-billion people living under the flag of the United Earth Government.
January 1st, 2310: "We live in a time where Earth no longer plays a principal role within human society. It has been two centuries since the drafting of the United Earth Government's constitution, and what have we received? Billions toil so that the few may prosper. We have worked tirelessly for decades to improve life out in the colonies, only to watch as any excess, the extra that could have brought us the same ease and comfort enjoyed on the homeworld, is taken from us. Earth is decadent and corrupt, and for too long we have funded her addictions with our blood and sweat. This is our home! This is ours! Let Sol create something for herself! It is time that we took a stand, and took back what is rightfully our own," – Governor Angela Mereilles, Address to the people of Arcadia.
February 5th, 2310: The government of Arcadia grounds all transports bound for Earth, protesting the dwindling resources of the colonies, many colonials resent the opulent lifestyle enjoyed by the residents of the Solar System.
February 6th, 2310: The government of Utopia follows suit, within hours, the governments of a dozen extrasolar colonies cease the free-flow of material back to Sol.
February 17th, 2310: The UEG sends the Fifth Fleet to Arcadia, intent on restoring the flow of goods to Earth once more. Upon arrival in Arcadia's orbit, the Orbital Defence Platforms open fire, inflicting massive casualties.
February 18th, 2310: Arcadia declares its independence from the United Earth Government, publicly broadcasting their intent across the wireless. The broadcast reaches billions of viewers before a total communications blackout within the colonies.
March 2310: The Resource Wars begin; the colonies of Earth begin to fragment into dozens of factions, all warring between Sol and themselves.
April 1st, 2310: The Sixth and Seventh Fleets arrive in Alpha Centauri, broadcasting their intent to engage in nuclear bombardment of the colonies should they refuse to surrender. In response, Centauri forces engage the fleet in orbit of the Chiron.
April 2nd, 2310: Colonial forces are routed, with the Sixth Fleet pursuing into the Centauri Asteroid Belt. The Seventh Fleet enters the orbit of Arcadia. In retaliation for the attack at Chiron, UEG forces launch a nuclear device at Argo City, the orbital terminus of the Argo Space Elevator. The fifty thousand residents aboard the station are all killed. Falling debris causes chaos on the planet below as millions of tonnes of material rain down on the populace, killing thousands more.
The Seventh Fleet is destroyed at the same time across the system after being lead into a trap; a massive colonial fleet, comprised of hundreds of ships from dozens of systems, lay in wait within the Asteroid Belt.
April 3rd, 2310: The Arcadian Hostage Crisis, the Sixth Fleet, still in orbit of Arcadia threatens to bombard the surface of the planet, home to four billion, with nuclear weaponry should the Colonial fleet enter within three million kilometres of the planet. The fleet retreats to Utopia, and maintains defensive formation over that world.
April 5th, 2310: Despite continued resistance, the Arcadian government surrenders to UEG forces, two months after the beginning of their insurrection.
April 15th, 2310: Angela Meirelles is executed for treason, conspiracy, war crimes, crimes against humanity and a host of other charges; she is executed by firing squad.
April 16th-April 22nd, 2310: Mass rioting on Arcadia in the wake of Governor Meirelles' death. UEG forces attempt to maintain control over the cities but are forced to retreat. Large sections of New Athens, the capital, are burned to the ground; thousands are killed.
2310-2313: The Resource Wars continue to rage, with control of the colonies trading hands repeatedly between the various factions. Scandal ensues on Earth when it is discovered that a number of corporations have secretly been sponsoring the colonial revolts with fiscal aid and intelligence.
January 8th, 2314: The CEO's of five of the most powerful corporations on Earth are executed for treason, all corporate assets are frozen, and most of the executive board are imprisoned.
January 9th, 2314: Black Friday, following the execution of many of Earth's corporate leaders, the Galactic Stock Market crashes amid increasing resource shortages, sweeping famines, and continued disruption to trade throughout the sector.
June 12th, 2314: Scans of Sol's asteroid belt reveal that it is nearly depleted; vast orbital construction projects, such as the Ring, terraforming of Mars, and the construction of tens of thousands of ships has taken its toll on the mineral wealth of the system.
July 2314: Famine sweeps the Solar System as the system population approaches thirty billion. The hundreds of ships in daily transit between the agrarian Mars, and the cosmopolitan Earth can hardly keep up with the demand for food. The UEG steps up its campaign against the colonies, launching increasingly desperate attacks on breadbasket worlds.
December 5th, 2314: Mineral surveys on Mars detect unusual activity beneath the Prometheus Sea. Originally overlooked during the terraforming operations, the UEG, now desperately attempting to hold the Solar System, begins prospecting at once.
February 21st, 2315: Mining operations at the Prometheus Sea uncover a ruined scientific facility dated at fifty thousand years of age. Strewn throughout the ruin are highly advanced caches of technology. It soon becomes apparent that the outpost was observing humanity back on Earth.
March 1st, 2315: The discovery of the Martian Ruins is formally announced by the UEG. Public interest wanes after the revelation that the race responsible for the creation of the Black Marker did not create the ruins on Mars.
July 15th, 2315: Translated data from the Martian Ruins leads to numerous advancements in the Shockpoint Drive. Originally ship size was limited due to the nature of the propulsion techniques involved, however with new technologies; ships of immense size are now capable of interstellar travel.
November 14th, 2315: The Fifth Battle of Arcadia results in a decisive UEG victory. Control of the Centauri System once more falls into UEG hands.
December 5th, 2315: The Concordance Extraction Corporation, a member of the Space Mining Guild, unveils plans for the USG Ishimura, it is hailed as the salvation of mankind and is considered critical to the end of the Resource Wars.
August 2316: Construction of the USG Ishimura at the Mars Shipyards begins.
January 1st, 2318: The USG Ishimura is launched on Unity Day, with a crew of over a thousand, at nearly three kilometres in length she is the largest vessel ever constructed, vastly outstripping the USM Excalibur, the largest battleship in the fleet at eight hundred feet.
January 3rd, 2318: The USG Ishimura demonstrates its capabilities in the Asteroid Belt, completing within hours work that would take months, if not years of labour. The UEG announces that Sol's resource crisis has come to an end.
March 2319: The first planet crack begins on the Vega VI. Initially slated for Io, one of the most geologically active moons in the Solar System, fears of the disruption to the orbits of the Jovian Moons, home to five hundred million; results in an out of Sol test subject.
September 2319: Planetcrack of Vega VI yields optimal results. Fleets of ships continuously arrive to retrieve material to take back to Sol. Ship production steps up on the Ring and in the other orbital colonies. Construction resumes on many projects throughout the system, which had been vacant since the rebellion at Arcadia. The UEG begins a defensive strategy of its current holdings, content to let the factions battle amongst themselves. For all intents and purposes, Sol's resource crisis is over.
November 9th, 2319: First Contact, popularly known as the November Crisis. A Turian Exploratory Fleet arrives at Arcturus, home to several million colonists under the jurisdiction of the Confederacy. Fearing an attack by the UEG, the Confederacy immediately engages the alien forces, who return fire. The sheer numbers of the Confederacy's forces overwhelm the Turians, who flee through the previously undiscovered Mass Relay.
November 10th, 2319: Confederacy forces contact the UEG with news of the battle at Arcturus, requesting a ceasefire.
November 13th, 2319: A second Turian Fleet arrives through the Arcturus Relay. Far better prepared, organized, and flaunting superior numbers, the Confedate forces hold back the Turian forces while the colonies are evacuated.
November 16th, 2319: The Earth Defence Fleet arrives at Arcturus, bolstering the failing defenders. Forces from the numerous factions continue to pour into the system, united against the invading forces.
November 17th, 2319: The Turians are once again routed, of the hundreds of ships that entered Arcturus space, only three return. Human casualties are relatively low in comparison.
November 18th, 2319: Unitologists throughout the galaxy protest the attacks against the alien forces, only to be later disappointed that the Turians were not responsible for the creation of their 'holy' Marker.
November 20th, 2319: The various human factions meet on Arcadia to sign a ceasefire in wake of the bloody first contact.
November 22nd, 2319: A unified Human Fleet, numbering in the thousands enters the Arcturus Relay, engaging Turian forces in a star cluster hundreds of light years from Earth.
November 24th, 2319: Human AIs decipher the Turian language. The Solar Parliament contemplates contacting the aliens when the war has brought a period of unity to humanity, and ended nearly a decade of inter-factional conflict.
November 26th, 2319: Human forces continue to advance through the Turian controlled star cluster.
November 28th, 2319: Humanity engages the Turians in orbit of the colony world Shan' Xi.
November 29th, 2319: Turian forces are defeated at Shan' Xi. The Terrans maintain orbit on the world above.
December 2319: Turian forces continue to probe the Human foritifications. The fleet sustain orbit above Shan' Xi, while politicians debate back in the core worlds.
January 1st, 2320: Humanity and its numerous factions are reorganized into the Systems Alliance, a technocratic confederacy. It marks the two hundred and tenth anniversary of the United Earth Government, as well as its demise.
February 15th, 2320: The human fleet in orbit of Shan' Xi is contacted by the Council, requesting peace talks.
February 17th, 2320: The newly formed Alliance Cabinet agrees to enter peace talks with the Council. The First Contact War is brought to an end.
March 12th, 2320: Ambassadors from Humanity arrive at the Citadel.
2321: The first human civilians migrate to the Citadel, human populations quickly swell to nearly ten percent.
2322: Mass Relays within human territory are activated. Providing a direct link between Human and Citadel Space; the primary means of transportation continues to be the Shockpoint Drive, considered to be far more reliable, efficient, with a speed unmatched by convention Eezo FTL.
February 2nd, 2323: Planetcrack of Vega VI is completed by the Ishimura. The amount of material recovered is equivalent to all minerals that humanity mined in its entire history.
July 2323: In response to the Ishimura's success, construction begins immediately on three new planet crackers for the Space Mining Guilds.
2330: Construction of the Sprawl begins from the remnants of Vega VI, the first planet crack. The planetary fragments are towed to Arcturus, to serve as a commercial and military hub at the nexus of several important Mass Relays.
2330-2350: The Age of Expansion: With years of conflict finally behind them, Humanity concentrates on expanding its holdings across the Local Cluster. The Citadel Races, dependent upon Mass Effect technology are spread densely across a small number of star clusters. Humanity with its Shockpoint Drive faces no such limitations. New systems are constantly being mapped and claimed in the name of the Systems Alliance.
2355: In response to murmurs of discontent within the Human Core worlds, the Space Miners Guild sanctions the colonization of sectors at the terminus of several Relays; planetcracks outside of the Local Cluster face little debate or protest by the Human population. A confidential study of the Vega System concluded that the orbits of several worlds were in decay due to the absence of Vega VI.
January 1st, 2370: The fiftieth anniversary of the Systems Alliance, human populations throughout the galaxy approach the eighty billion mark.
February 2375: The Council files sanctions against humanity, in response to growing criticism of the planetcrack process. Many have concluded that the gravitational disruption posed by the destruction of entire planets will lead to the demise of the systems that Humanity's space mining guilds are prospecting.
March 2375: The Space Mining Guilds cease all trade and production in Council Space.
April 2375: The Council retracts all statements critical of the planetcrack process. Trade and production resume.
December 14th, 2380: Miranda Lawson is born in Brisbane, Australia.
June 5th, 2383: Garrus Vakarian is born on Palaven.
April 11th, 2384: John Shepard is born on The Ring to Hannah and Nathaniel Shepard.
June 1st, 2384: C.E.C.'s sixth planet cracker, the USG Castle, enters service. Improving upon the Ishimura's design, she is considered to be the most efficient in the fleet.
2385: The USG Ishimura undergoes upgrades at Mars Shipyards.
May 1st, 2388: Kelly Chambers is born in Armstrong City on Luna.
2390: Relations between the Systems Alliance and the Batarian government deteriorate over planet cracking operations throughout the Skyllian Verge. Prior to Humanity's arrival, the Verge had been a Batarian interest. Conflict arose over Human 'strip-mining' practises throughout the sector.
2392: Piracy in the Skyllian Verge increases two hundred percent. Almost all targets are Human.
2392: Humanity triples its military forces in the Verge, piracy reaches an all time low.
2395: Much of Citadel Space falls into a recession; Humans enjoy the highest standard of living in the Galaxy.
January 1st, 2400: The dawn of the 25th century. The Alliance turns eighty, and is comprised of more than three hundred colonies, and a hundred billion residents.
August 2nd, 2400: The colony of Mindoir is attacked by Batarian slavers. A small agricultural world providing foodstuffs to the Elysium Sector, its ten thousand inhabitants are either slaughtered or taken captive. Less than a hundred survivors remain on the world in the aftermath.
September 27th, 2400: Batarian 'pirates' attempt to seize control of the USG Castle, engaged in planetcrack at Teyehron. For the first time since their inception, a Planetcracker engages in combat. Using the Asteroid Defense System, the crew of the Castle quickly defeats the enemy force.
August 18th, 2402: The Wanat Disaster, three supply ships, a planet-cracker and a C.E.C. colony are lost due to gravity tether failure, with a loss of seventy thousand lives. It is the worst disaster in the history of the planet crack process.
June 15th, 2406: The Skyllian Blitz. Elysium, one of Humanity's gateway colonies, guarding the Relay to the Inner Colonies; is attacked by a coalition of Batarian and Pirate Forces, numbering in the thousands. Orbital defences are overwhelmed, and Human security is engaged groundside.
June 17th, 2406: John Shepard, a systems engineer for the Concordance Extraction Corporation, is credited for saving Elysium; realigning the satellite network, he uploaded an AI Virus into the fleet above, disabling nearly ninety percent of the Batarian force.
November 2410: C.E.C. prospectors enter the Aegis System, and begin surveying various planets. The seventh planet shows immense promise, with concentrations of valuable minerals hovering at 60%. Typical concentrations range through the thirties. Colonization of Aegis VII almost immediately begins as the C.E.C. scrambles to claim the world.
2412: The USG Ishimura successfully completes its 34th planetcrack, holding the record for the highest number of successful planetcracks, as well as the highest yield of refined prdouct at fourteen trillion kilotons and counting. The ship, at 95, is now one of the oldest serving vessels in human space.
October 2413: Present Day.
