RED HAVEN 'VERSE INFO
TIMELINE.
Late 2000s - First manned mission landed on Mars. America, as a superpower, falls to the dominance of China, India and Japan.
2100s - the first permanent settlement on Mars. Nuclear accident in Japan decimates the country. China falls into internal chaos due to genetic experimentation. Genetic experimentation is outlawed. The Middle East, now mostly pseudo-democratic, rises to prominence because, conversely, they were the only ones who prepared for a fossil-fuel-free society. Population laws begin in India, South Africa and Brazil.
2200s - Cities, mines, civilization on Mars. Mars is terraformed, given atmosphere and high gravity to support it. True AI is discovered and patented by a South African firm. The AI makes it into the internet and nearly destroys Africa's infrastructure. Artificial intelligence is outlawed. South America begins to rise to prominence on the international scene. Population laws are enacted on 12% of the world's population.
2300s - The Twelve Havens are formalized, on Mars. This is the beginnings of a self-governing system, one based on family ties and social groups rather than territorial divides. America's population drops to 200 million. The European Union buckles under the economic demands of meeting South America's capacity. Population laws are enacted on 89% of the world's population. Resources become scarce.
2360 - Earth makes a desperate move to claim Mars' resources for their own. Mars declares independence from Earth and goes to war. Mars gets their ass kicked.
2365 - Mars surrenders. The final battle is won by Earth war hero Alec Angilo; it is lost by Martian war hero Derek Rayne.
2367 - Mars goes to war again, under the leadership of Admiral Derek Rayne, starting with an attack on Earth's shipyards. Mars owns this time.
2369 - Earth surrenders. The Seventh United Nations passes trade sanctions against Mars. America breaks from the United Nations and normalizes trade relations, giving Mars the food they need to survive.
2374 - Constitution of Mars is formalized and ratified. Admiral Derek Rayne retires from public life.
2375 - Write-in votes count Derek Rayne as gaining a plurality of the vote, in the first presidential election on Mars. He declines.
2399 - Peace treaty from the end of the second war is brought up for review. Under heavy controversy, it is not renewed. However, instead of beginning violence anew, this allows the planet's strained relationship to ease.
MARS
Mars is a fusion of culture from immigrants plus adaptations necessary to survive in Martian climates. Most early immigrants were from places like the Middle East, and most of them were miners there to raze Mars's resources or scientists there to keep the miners alive. Mars is very family-focused, social group-focused and based on strong bonds, either from proximity or from blood ties.
SCIENCE: Mars has had its gravity artificially enhanced and has been bombarded with oxygen and nitrogen particles in order to create a thin but breathable atmosphere. Gravity satellites keep the gravity network up, and an enhanced planetary core keeps the whole thing from collapsing.
Early on, the cities were domed to hold in air. Now, while the domed cities still exist, the domes are not maintained. The half-wrecked dome skeletons still stretch over the cities.
HAVENS: Havens are something like a family joined with a political party. They encompass an individual's entire social group sometimes, and are responsible for education, regulation and support of their members. (Because of this, the overall government of Mars is fairly limited in scope.) Each Haven has a different culture and a different way of doing things. Notably, Havens do not depend on territorial boundaries but all coexist in a big mass in every major Martian city. Without networked computers, the Havens wouldn't have a good way to communicate and as such would collapse.
There are thousands upon thousands of Havens, but they form coalitions which overall make up the Council of Twelve that governs Mars.
Famous Havens include:
Nest Haven - reportedly a radical pro-Mars, anti-Earth group. Often mistaken by Terrans to be a terrorist group.
Whitefall Haven - home of Derek Rayne, hero of Mars. Whitefall Haven is part of the Falls Convention, represented by Senator Maurina d'Jorian.
Amelie
New France
Soviestan
The Pacific Convention
Medina
GOVERNMENT: The Council of Twelve, plus a limited overall legal system. Twelve overall Senators represent their Haven coalitions on the Council. Some are elected, some appointed, and a couple of the positions are hereditary.
LANGUAGE: Dominant languages are English and Arabic, with a smattering of French and Russian. Most children speak at least two of the four.
GEOGRAPHY: Mars is mostly desert made of fine grey-red sand. Very low areas, such as valleys, are the only places where water really accumulates. As such, this is where the limited agriculture is done. Transportation is mostly by train. The main spaceport in and out of the planet is on the top of Olympus Mons, which actually protrudes above Mars's atmosphere.
APPEARANCE: Cities tend to be crowded, mostly built of metal and glass and concrete. Wood is a rare luxury. Martians favor bright colors and warm clothing. Written language is generally either in English or Arabic.
FOOD: Heavy on the spices, rice and meat. Not heavy on vegetables or fruits, given the condition of Mars's agriculture.
THE CHARACTERS
DEREK RAYNE: A Martian hero. Led Mars to victory against Earth. His personal life is truly fucked up; he's in love with Alec Angilo, his mirror counterpart on the Earth side.
ALEC ANGILO: A principled, talented Earth officer who's in love with Derek Rayne. This screws up both their lives royally.
VIVIAN DOMINIC ROMA: A spy for Mars's side. Mysterious, but absolutely loyal to Derek for reasons neither of them ever disclose.
Earth military:
VARLEY: An egotistical Earth general convinced he'll get the best of Rayne eventually.
HUN: A female Earth general responsible for much of the first war's victories. She's a BAMF.
Earth politics:
ADAR: An ambassador for the president of the United Nations, and kind of a dick. He overestimates Earth's power regularly.
Mars military:
JAMES WHITMAN: Derek Rayne's second-in-command, quiet and efficient and loyal.
SERGEANT JERRICKS: Sharp as a tack, loud and not afraid to say what he has to say. Sent to a labor colony on Venus after the war, but organized a breakout with Derian and De Marco.
DE MARCO: Another of Rayne's crew. Communications officer, super-organized, and she's fairly pretty too.
DERIAN: De Marco's twin brother, a little more talented as far as machines and electronics go.
MASALLE: Mars's supreme commander in the first war. He died during the final battle, leaving Colonel Rayne in command.
Mars politics:
MAURINA D'JORIAN: Falls Convention Senator and a smart, capable, almost regal woman.
ERIC EL'JAHA: A member of one of Mars's first families, and filthy rich from the mines. He likes pretending he's a playboy with no depth. However, he was the main source of funding for the Martian resistance between the two wars.
QUENTIN NORRELL: A lawyer, principled and articulate and clever. He tends to take the antagonistic position from whatever he sees as the majority view, because he believes in debate so thoroughly.
SAHARA JAY: A fierce, intense woman with a chip on her shoulder. She's always fought for Mars, and she has a hard time not advocating violence.
RITCHIE TEGG: A military veteran of Mars before the first war ever broke out. He's old, prone to fits of depression and despair, and he doesn't give a shit what other people think.
Late 2000s - First manned mission landed on Mars. America, as a superpower, falls to the dominance of China, India and Japan.
2100s - the first permanent settlement on Mars. Nuclear accident in Japan decimates the country. China falls into internal chaos due to genetic experimentation. Genetic experimentation is outlawed. The Middle East, now mostly pseudo-democratic, rises to prominence because, conversely, they were the only ones who prepared for a fossil-fuel-free society. Population laws begin in India, South Africa and Brazil.
2200s - Cities, mines, civilization on Mars. Mars is terraformed, given atmosphere and high gravity to support it. True AI is discovered and patented by a South African firm. The AI makes it into the internet and nearly destroys Africa's infrastructure. Artificial intelligence is outlawed. South America begins to rise to prominence on the international scene. Population laws are enacted on 12% of the world's population.
2300s - The Twelve Havens are formalized, on Mars. This is the beginnings of a self-governing system, one based on family ties and social groups rather than territorial divides. America's population drops to 200 million. The European Union buckles under the economic demands of meeting South America's capacity. Population laws are enacted on 89% of the world's population. Resources become scarce.
2360 - Earth makes a desperate move to claim Mars' resources for their own. Mars declares independence from Earth and goes to war. Mars gets their ass kicked.
2365 - Mars surrenders. The final battle is won by Earth war hero Alec Angilo; it is lost by Martian war hero Derek Rayne.
2367 - Mars goes to war again, under the leadership of Admiral Derek Rayne, starting with an attack on Earth's shipyards. Mars owns this time.
2369 - Earth surrenders. The Seventh United Nations passes trade sanctions against Mars. America breaks from the United Nations and normalizes trade relations, giving Mars the food they need to survive.
2374 - Constitution of Mars is formalized and ratified. Admiral Derek Rayne retires from public life.
2375 - Write-in votes count Derek Rayne as gaining a plurality of the vote, in the first presidential election on Mars. He declines.
2399 - Peace treaty from the end of the second war is brought up for review. Under heavy controversy, it is not renewed. However, instead of beginning violence anew, this allows the planet's strained relationship to ease.
MARS
Mars is a fusion of culture from immigrants plus adaptations necessary to survive in Martian climates. Most early immigrants were from places like the Middle East, and most of them were miners there to raze Mars's resources or scientists there to keep the miners alive. Mars is very family-focused, social group-focused and based on strong bonds, either from proximity or from blood ties.
SCIENCE: Mars has had its gravity artificially enhanced and has been bombarded with oxygen and nitrogen particles in order to create a thin but breathable atmosphere. Gravity satellites keep the gravity network up, and an enhanced planetary core keeps the whole thing from collapsing.
Early on, the cities were domed to hold in air. Now, while the domed cities still exist, the domes are not maintained. The half-wrecked dome skeletons still stretch over the cities.
HAVENS: Havens are something like a family joined with a political party. They encompass an individual's entire social group sometimes, and are responsible for education, regulation and support of their members. (Because of this, the overall government of Mars is fairly limited in scope.) Each Haven has a different culture and a different way of doing things. Notably, Havens do not depend on territorial boundaries but all coexist in a big mass in every major Martian city. Without networked computers, the Havens wouldn't have a good way to communicate and as such would collapse.
There are thousands upon thousands of Havens, but they form coalitions which overall make up the Council of Twelve that governs Mars.
Famous Havens include:
Nest Haven - reportedly a radical pro-Mars, anti-Earth group. Often mistaken by Terrans to be a terrorist group.
Whitefall Haven - home of Derek Rayne, hero of Mars. Whitefall Haven is part of the Falls Convention, represented by Senator Maurina d'Jorian.
Amelie
New France
Soviestan
The Pacific Convention
Medina
GOVERNMENT: The Council of Twelve, plus a limited overall legal system. Twelve overall Senators represent their Haven coalitions on the Council. Some are elected, some appointed, and a couple of the positions are hereditary.
LANGUAGE: Dominant languages are English and Arabic, with a smattering of French and Russian. Most children speak at least two of the four.
GEOGRAPHY: Mars is mostly desert made of fine grey-red sand. Very low areas, such as valleys, are the only places where water really accumulates. As such, this is where the limited agriculture is done. Transportation is mostly by train. The main spaceport in and out of the planet is on the top of Olympus Mons, which actually protrudes above Mars's atmosphere.
APPEARANCE: Cities tend to be crowded, mostly built of metal and glass and concrete. Wood is a rare luxury. Martians favor bright colors and warm clothing. Written language is generally either in English or Arabic.
FOOD: Heavy on the spices, rice and meat. Not heavy on vegetables or fruits, given the condition of Mars's agriculture.
THE CHARACTERS
DEREK RAYNE: A Martian hero. Led Mars to victory against Earth. His personal life is truly fucked up; he's in love with Alec Angilo, his mirror counterpart on the Earth side.
ALEC ANGILO: A principled, talented Earth officer who's in love with Derek Rayne. This screws up both their lives royally.
VIVIAN DOMINIC ROMA: A spy for Mars's side. Mysterious, but absolutely loyal to Derek for reasons neither of them ever disclose.
Earth military:
VARLEY: An egotistical Earth general convinced he'll get the best of Rayne eventually.
HUN: A female Earth general responsible for much of the first war's victories. She's a BAMF.
Earth politics:
ADAR: An ambassador for the president of the United Nations, and kind of a dick. He overestimates Earth's power regularly.
Mars military:
JAMES WHITMAN: Derek Rayne's second-in-command, quiet and efficient and loyal.
SERGEANT JERRICKS: Sharp as a tack, loud and not afraid to say what he has to say. Sent to a labor colony on Venus after the war, but organized a breakout with Derian and De Marco.
DE MARCO: Another of Rayne's crew. Communications officer, super-organized, and she's fairly pretty too.
DERIAN: De Marco's twin brother, a little more talented as far as machines and electronics go.
MASALLE: Mars's supreme commander in the first war. He died during the final battle, leaving Colonel Rayne in command.
Mars politics:
MAURINA D'JORIAN: Falls Convention Senator and a smart, capable, almost regal woman.
ERIC EL'JAHA: A member of one of Mars's first families, and filthy rich from the mines. He likes pretending he's a playboy with no depth. However, he was the main source of funding for the Martian resistance between the two wars.
QUENTIN NORRELL: A lawyer, principled and articulate and clever. He tends to take the antagonistic position from whatever he sees as the majority view, because he believes in debate so thoroughly.
SAHARA JAY: A fierce, intense woman with a chip on her shoulder. She's always fought for Mars, and she has a hard time not advocating violence.
RITCHIE TEGG: A military veteran of Mars before the first war ever broke out. He's old, prone to fits of depression and despair, and he doesn't give a shit what other people think.