United Federation of Planets/History/Early Years
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The roots of the Federation intertwine deeply throughout the histories of the five founding members. Alpha Centauri, Andoria, Tellar, Vulcan and Earth all survived dark pasts when their civilizations teetered on the edge of annihilation. All five races overcame these threats to their existence, each race finding its own way to defeat it particular demons. The lessons of these times brought each race to an understanding of unity and helped forge the Federation into an institution that protects the fundamental rights of all beings and works to promote peace throughout the galaxy. Forged from StruggleAlpha Centauri had to survive genetically created viruses that ran out of control, produced by rival city-states. Eventually they found a cure, and their scientific pursuits led them to perfect the science of terraforming. The Andorian culture suffered massive casualties for centuries from clan-war after clan-war. The institution of ritual combat to settle differences between the clans saved Andorian civilization, and Andorians hold their rituals sacred to this day. Tellarites attempted to force engineered social and economical systems on their people trying to homogenize it, usually violently. A global refusal paved the way for a unified government who would not let national allegiances get in the way of free speech, free debate, and free exchange of information. The early history of Vulcan was violent and destructive, fueled by uncontrollable emotion. After centuries of intense fighting, the brilliant mentalist Surak developed a vital philosophy of logic, which would control the strong Vulcan emotions. His teachings took hold and brought about the Time of Awakening. It is believed that the Romulans may have broken from the Vulcans at this time rather than accept Surak’s doctrines. A History of ViolenceThe nations of Earth fluctuated between disastrous world wars and ever-more-widespread world governments for three centuries. The “Seven Years” and Napoleonic Wars (1754-1815) led to the Concert of Europe, World War I (1914-1918) led to the League of Nations, and World War II (1939-1945) led to the United Nations. Tiring of the ineffectual UN, a group of fanatical human scientists created a genetically altered master race in an attempt to forcibly impose world peace. The most infamous of these “supermen,” Khan Noonian Singh, seized power in Asia in 1992 and used brilliant diplomatic and military strategy to conquer much of the developing world. As he amassed an empire controlling almost a quarter of the Earth, Khan played politics, manipulating the world powers into appeasement strategies, while he demanded the reverence and worship of citizens of his empire. Forty other nations fell under the domination of Khan’s fellow “supermen,” but the United Nations coordinated efforts to stop the genetically altered conquerors. Cooperation between the unconquered countries of Earth, combined with infighting among Khan and the other “supermen” led to a slow, but inevitable defeat of the “supermen.” Khan and his followers fled into exile using a DY-100 sleeper ship, the SS Botany Bay. The Eugenics Wars were the turning point. Khan’s war had so seriously damaged the world economy and ecology that no nation felt secure enough to support the New United Nations. Even the relatively rich and free United States suffered, both from domestic unrest and from economic decline. Colonel Green, an ambitious American soldier, attempted to launch a coup to restore American greatness after losing the 2052 Presidential election. Green favored exterminating the unfit and excess population, and historians credit Green or his followers with launching the volley of nuclear and biological weapons that started World War III in 2053. Although the European nations originally stood as one against Green, after suffering devastating attacks several of the allies turned against each other. Bombs tore apart many European capitals. Destruction of trade routes left millions starving. Some accounts tell of cannibalism in heavily populated areas. Nationalist groups slaughtered minorities en-masse in these areas. Revolution caught fire throughout Europe as some fought desperately to bring back a united Europe. Rising from the AshesFor obvious reasons, few records survive from these dark days. The war was over almost before it began, since nations simply collapsed into near-complete anarchy. Portions of the United States, East Asia and Europe survived, but the nuclear winter and economic devastation hit even these relatively lucky regions hard. Famines, plagues, and riots killed billions. Civilization was knocked back to seventeenth-century levels in even the most prosperous regions, and almost to Stone Age everywhere else. Only isolated groups of scientists and experimenters survived the chaos of the middle 21st century. One such was Zefram Cochrane, who became the first human to break the light barrier with his ship, the Phoenix, in 2063. His flight alone might have restored hope across the globe, but when a Vulcan scout ship detected the Phoenix’s warp signature, that first contact with Cochrane ushered in a new era on Earth. First the Vulcans and then the Centaurans worked to save humanity from its wreckage. Although the road to unity was difficult, no government would willingly risk both its new-found interstellar allies and the future of the planet for another war.
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