2122 Foreign Affairs Update
TheInnerMoon
Anarchist, Author, All-Around Philosopher
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Peace For Our Time?
On February 14th, 2122, the Treaty of St. Petersburg is finally signed in the eponymous city, bringing almost five years of pointless slaughter to an end. Despite the desirability of peace–or at least a temporary ceasefire, as militarists on both sides try to sell it–the signing itself is treated as one last opportunity for defiance. Its location is therefore no accident, but rather an attempt by the Europeans to crown themselves the victors: "you Eurasians may have won your independence, but we will deny you this historic city". The tsarists, for their part, are treating their lack of St. Petersburg as no great loss. The city is a nest of degenerate europhiles, and was named for one too. No wonder the Russian Revolution started there.Resolved The New Crusades
Don't Cry for Me
As the essentialists lick their wounds, more dire reports have come from the south, where the Negation has finally attacked a non-UN power. For reasons yet unclear, it is the nation of Argentina which has caught their ire. Just as strangely, it seems that the Negation's forces are only targeting a portion of the Argentinian state and population. More specifically, they have decided to take up the banner of Peronism, an old staple of the country's politics. As the civilian population is captured and scanned, those who possess some sympathy for the old order are spared, and incorporated into its regeneration. Most of them are assimilated into a great pantomime of the past two centuries, an indistinct palingenesis where Everything Is As It Should Be. A select few, the most diehard adherents, are made into the missionaries and ambassadors of the regime, ready to spread the good word about the land of silver. Some of these emissaries have even made their way into UN territory, where they present themselves in a far less belligerent fashion than their Negation brethren. We do not yet understand this difference in disposition. It might be that the Argentinian 'branch' of the Negation phenomenon is an autonomous entity, a mutated offshoot. Or it could be the case that Peronism itself has imbued its essentialist programming with a degree of political flexibility. Either way, the Argentinian situation, however tragic, is not something we can concern ourselves with in the short term. At best, we can continue to accept the rising influx of refugees.Gained Argentinian Refugees: -5 per die on PALA-based projects
A Butlerian Jihad
One of the principal points of inspiration for the Barsoomian Ideology–besides the same cosmist strands which produced the present Eurasian scourge–is the late 20th century teaching of Earthseed. This pseudo-spiritual doctrine, first set out by science fiction author Octavia Butler in her work Parable of the Sower, maintains that the foremost duty of humanity is to 'take root among the stars'. It's not hard to see why this idea would appeal to our Martian comrades.However, amidst the ravages of the 21st century, an important modification was made to this core principle, one which became known as the 'Terran Corollary'. Its common explanation was somewhat paradoxical: "In order to avoid terran exceptionalism, we must acknowledge the Earth's exceptional features". The elaborate version was far more understandable, consisting of the idea that any universal mandate to spread and preserve life would surely need to prioritize the bountiful biospheres of Earth. So yes, the Earth was somewhat exceptional, but only because of its metabolic proportions. Over the course of centuries, these were to be equalized across the known universe. Just not yet.
In the short term, all the Terran Corollary did was keep more Earthseed followers earthbound, as they prioritized their care for this planet instead of moving on to another. In the past year or so, however, the idea has seen a considerable revival among the revolutionaries of Barsoom. As they see their comrades brought low by the assaults of ecocidal essentialists, it's becoming clear to more and more Barsoomians that the fate of the Earth cannot be left to the earthlings. And so, when one of their own is killed in the brutal assault on the Haudenosaunee, this sentiment is catalyzed into a proper casus belli. For the first time ever in their capacity as a revolutionary regime, Barsoom will go to war.
Given the distances involved, it takes some time for an interplanetary task force to be assembled and sent out. Its components are all at the cutting edge of human spaceflight, though focused more on space-to-ground logistics than space-to-space combat. Nevertheless, its approach is quickly declared a military threat by GTO authorities, which scrambles its own forces to interdict the Barsoomian fleet. A tense few weeks ensue as the two formations approach one another. In the end, beyond a few threatening missives and warning shots, nothing much comes of it. The Barsoomians' angle of approach lies outside of the range of most GTO mass drivers, and the basing rights granted to them by the UN allows for another layer of orbital security. Warlike as they might be, the essentialists won't risk WW5 over this. Thank the stars for that.
As the extraterrestrial force begins to dock at Daedalus station, it takes another couple of weeks for it to fully 'unfold' into its full configuration, becoming a lattice of various hangars, headquarters, and field fabricators. It is at this point that "Operation Earthseed" officially begins. Great barges begin to descend from their high orbit, installing long space tethers above the densest layers of space junk. Once counterbalanced with a piece of satellite salvage, these tethers can survive as reverse skyhooks, quickly deorbiting a shuttle while also expelling some trash from orbit. It's a smart piece of design, and the Barsoomians have already promised to sign the structures over to the UN after their operation is complete. This will surely enhance our orbital capabilities.
First, though, the skyhooks are put to the task of deorbiting the Barsoomians' landing parties. Before long, bulky combat shuttles are screaming through the atmosphere, each of them aimed at a distinct site of Negation activity. The nightmares themselves do not let the landings go unopposed, and so the skies above are quickly filled with corrosive clouds, drone swarms, and all kinds of exotic ordnance.
While future observers may wonder how any troops could make it through this pandemonium, some do, and begin to establish a beachhead. This is the kind of operation which will come at a huge cost regardless of its success. Only about two out of three landings are successful altogether, and there is no chance for evacuation in those all-too-common failures. Wherever they don't secure their landing zone, the Barsoomian troops are simply cut down where they stand. But where they do, an important breach is made.
Overall, the landing sites are as scattershot as the initial Negation flareups. Major operations areas include Dodoma, Brasilia, and Los Angeles; all the great abandoned cities of UN territory, in short, and many more besides. Most importantly, however, about a third of the landing forces are dedicated to a strike at the hydra's heart, setting down in the ruins of the Tokyo Metroplex. That this landing succeeds at all is a testament to its sheer audacity, and to the constant barrage of EMP strikes which supplements the operation.
Even at present, losses on the Tokyo front continue to be heavy. But with its basic viability secured, we can begin to learn more about the origins of the Negation phenomenon, and of the mysterious 'Amaterasu' entity which is said to lead them. Further cooperation between the Barsoomians and the DPO will be paramount to this effort, as will UNIDA's infrastructural work by extension. Thankfully, our red comrades stand ready to assist us.
New project unlocked: Operation Earthseed
Meanwhile, in Frank Wong's office:
"Cheryl, Gabriel, thank you for coming in today. I am here to tell you that you've both been shortlisted for the UNDP deputy position. Yes, that would make you third in line on the UNIDA council, like Giovanna used to be. She's sorry she can't be here, by the way, you have no idea how busy she is now. Well, okay, you were both in government during the Emergency Period, so I guess you do know.Anyway, I'll be honest here, we're having some trouble choosing between the two of you. It was easy enough to reject more 'experimental' options–no, I won't go into that–but you are both more than qualified for anything we might throw your way. Hell, the problem might be that you're so damn complementary; there's hardly any basis for comparison between you.
So, here's the deal: do you want to share the job? With the new Galina architecture, we could easily split the workload between you. You'll be working in different areas, most of the time, but we can set up some cross-departmental meetings if that's what you'd prefer. It's just an idea, and if one of you doesn't feel like it, we'll just get back to the usual procedure. But personally, I think it could be kind of fun. Don't you?"
[] Cheryl Khan
[] Gabriel Ndambuki
[] Both (separate departments)
[] Both (coordinated departments)
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