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{M}Verse History; Leaving Earth, Alliance, Unification War
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Topic Started: Jun 19 2008, 07:42 PM (1,173 Views)
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ShinLi
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Jun 19 2008, 07:42 PM
Post #1
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Administrator
- Posts:
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- Occupation
- Captn of this boat...
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History in it's shortest sense: (the dates)
Short Timeline:
Early 2505: There is a call for settlers on Miranda, a world at the far edge of the system. Mid 2506: Beginning of Unification War Late 2506: The Alliance sends a team to investigate what happened on Miranda after loosing contact, but they are all killed on the planet. The Alliance suppresses the secret of their failed experiment on Miranda, along with any record on the Cortex of the planet's existence. Rumour spreads that Miranda is a black rock, where the terraforming didn't hold, and that just a few settlers died. 2507 to 2510: Merciless cannibalistic killers known as Reavers begin appearing at the edges of the system. People don't know their origins, the general populace comes to think of this as the natural consequence of humanity pushing out further every year--some men go savage on the edge of space after being too long removed from civilisation. 2511:Unification War Ended: (Alliance won, browncoats (independants) were defeated) Mid 2518: Word of Miranda got out: Late 2518: Now
More indepth stuff about the Verse and it's history follows below. If you are not very familiar with the setting of Firely, it is a good idea to read over. It seems really big... it's not that big. It's quite interesting actually!
Verse History
Understanding the world of Firefly takes just a little high school American history, a dab of current events and some imagination and foresight.
Think American Civil War. Think American Western frontier (i.e. Jesse James, The Oregon Trail, and some really cool cowboys). Add China’s rapidly escalating position on the world stage. And don’t forget to legalize prostitution. Now, put all that into a blender and pitch it 500 years in the future in space. Sounds crazy, right? But, it works.
The world that we know now melded and merged until, at some point, China and the United States emerged as the two main superpowers. In order to cope, survive and prosper, people from either culture had to be equally adept in the other. We don’t know if this happened gradually or very suddenly, but on the most basic level, everyone had to be able to speak both languages. The two cultures blended to become one single culture, the human culture. However in true spirit of human nature, people held onto aspects of their own original religion, culture and background. Some more then others. Seeking to retain their own uniqueness and originality. Mirroring the migration west in the American frontier, when humanity were forced into the space (in the show it’s mention the earth was ‘used up’), these were the things they took with them.
After a time, something moved the separate colonies and worlds of humankind to begin joining together into what becomes an Alliance of worlds. It appears that this Alliance was a melding of governments and corporations. This Alliance grew and began to encompass all of the settled worlds. There were some, however, who didn’t take kindly to this notion of being under the control of the so-called Alliance. A universal civil war ensued.
Those against the Alliance became known as the Independents, nicknamed the Browncoats for the colors they wore. From all evidence, the war was every bit as bloody, destructive and bitter as the American Civil War. In the end, the Alliance emerged as the victor. After the war, many of those who had fought for the Independents scattered. Just as many of the Confederate soldiers of the American Civil War did, being unwilling or unable to live under Alliance control, many of the former Browncoats moved out to the fringes of space and the freedom the frontier could provide.
The Universal Civil War has been over for about 7 years. The verse is one of reconstruction and has many of the same characteristics of the Reconstruction period in the American south. The Alliance government is oppressive toward the former Independents and there is bitter resentment and suspicion towards them from the people . They are the losers living in the winner’s world. Those who have chosen to live in harmony with the Alliance are looked upon with scorn by both their former comrades and the Alliance they have been forced to embrace. Those who can’t stomach living under Alliance control live hand-to-mouth on the frontier, giving up the luxury and beauty of the Alliance worlds for the low-tech, wild west existence out on the fringes. Where life is hard, and where terra-forming projects haven’t created the perfect worlds, but mostly desert like planets where farming is hard, and where alliance technology and medicine is stretched thinly.
You use an old-fashioned gun instead of a laser pistol because a laser pistol requires power and a battery charge and sometimes you just don’t have access to power or can’t afford it. And since life on the fringes of space require you to be able to protect yourself at all times, you wear a holster and carry that gun all the time. And you embrace a code, good or bad, like the gunfighters of the Old West because that is the only way you can live the life you are now living. You do what has to be done and you don’t look back. Practicality influences your tools, your dress and your morals. It sends you back to a simpler way of life and equips you for facing survival on the frontier. It is living an 1886 life in the year 2518. And the drama of Out In The Black is in the details of that life. I. A Bit of History Earth That Was Earth is the origin of all humanity, the common factor shared by all, Alliance and Independent alike. It is stated that Earth was "used up," but for whatever reason, mankind abandoned Earth generations ago and moved out into the stars. This must have been a profound cultural event, one that could have broken down the very essence of humanity. But, mankind held onto the tenets of culture and civilization in the exodus, carrying with it those things both material and spiritual that make us human.
Following true human nature, as time passed Earth took on an almost mythical status in the culture. It is now referred to as Earth That Was and myths and stories about it have arisen. One piece of such a story is related by Saffron in the episode "Our Mrs. Reynolds":
"...that when she (Earth) was born she had no sky and was open, inviting. And, the stars would rush into her, through the skin of her, making the ocean's boil with sensation. And when she could endure no more ecstasy, she puffed up her cheeks and blew out the sky."
Earth That Was is not like Atlantis. Many physical artifacts have survived the time between the exodus and the present. Most, if not all, are held by private collectors and perhaps, museums. One of the largest collections of Earth That Was artifacts is held by a man named Durran Haymer at his private estate on Bellepheron. Some items in his collection include a late 20th Century telephone booth, a phonograph with 2 LP records, a model sailing ship, a grand piano, artwork and until it was stolen, one of only two Lassiters, "the original hand-held laser pistol...the forerunner of all laser technology." (Trash)
However or whyever Earth was abandoned, mankind possessed the technology to take the recipe with them. New worlds were terra-formed to be as close to the old Earth as possible. Planets and moons were (and still are) terra-formed into "hundreds of new Earths." None were a perfect copy and all carried their own little quirks, but technology and/or human spirit overcome these. These new worlds were colonized and settled, built on and built up, and true to both our history and our pioneering nature, mankind continues to reach out further and further, transforming new Earths in the image of the old. The Universal Civil War Little is known about the specifics of the war in regard to its battles and tactics, its generals or the movements of its armies. We have been given little of what will be recounted in the history books. What can be deduced from the few facts we have is that it was a broad and sweeping conflict with roots in politics, economics and human rights. It affected every man, woman and child in the civilized and settled worlds.
The conflict began when some of the colonized (core-)"planets formed the Alliance and decided that all the planets should join under their rule." Quite a few people took exception to this, especially when the so-called Alliance moved in and began dictating the hows and wherefores of their day-to-day lives. These disgruntled folks joined together and the Independents were formed. The disagreement soon turned to all-out war with men and women fighting for what they believed was their freedom from over-bearing, totalitarian rule. "We're fighting the just cause. Independent thought, independent dreams, independent lives. It's a thing worth dying for." (Declan-Dead or Alive unaired script)
Although the Independents may have started out as a loosely organized band of rebels, we've seen evidence that they were an organized and trained fighting force. They were soon nicknamed Browncoats for the colors they wore. Most likely they suffered from a lack of resources and manpower throughout the war which, of course, contributed to their defeat. Technologically, the war was fought with every weapon available. The Independents are seen to have had their own warships and gunships as well as heavy artillery and small arms. The Alliance is known to have used bioweapons, mortars, rollers (tanks), seekers (a sort-of airborne, heat-seeking grenade), and warships as well as artillery and small arms.
The war was played out on many worlds, with one of the final battles taking place on the planet Hera. The Independents suffered a crushing defeat there at the Battle of Serenity Valley. "Some say the war ended in that valley." (Bushwhacked) The Alliance forces were simply too overwhelming. The Independents were outmanned and apparently outgunned.
The Alliance emerged the victor in the war and took all of the settled worlds under its rule. The end of the war is celebrated with an official Alliance holiday known as Unification Day or U-Day. Only seven short years have passed since the end of the war and bitterness and resentment still abound among the people of border and rim planets. Some on the side of the Alliance feel that all the Independents should have been killed. And, there are still pockets of resistance to the Alliance, underground movements fighting to subvert Alliance control. Its difficult for a man or woman known to have fought on the side of the Independents to find work and many former Browncoats have moved to the fringes of space, the Border planets. A number have turned to crime in order to survive. The arms of the Alliance government also look upon the former rebels with heightened suspicion and tend to wield their power with an iron fist. The transition from war to peacetime has not been easy and reconstruction is painful and ongoing. II. The Union of Allied Planets (The Alliance) Totalitarianism in Action "Alliance Rewards Those Who Reward Themselves" (banner depicted in Dead or Alive-unaired script) Totalitarian is defined by Webster's as "a form of government or state in which the lives and actions of every individual, and every enterprise, are controlled by a dictator or dictatorial caucus." The Union of Allied Planets, more familiarly known simply as the Alliance, is a totalitarian regime. It is a dictatorial government run by bureaucratic rules and a corporate mentality. It has been described as "cabalistic" which implies secret interests and agendas. Its roots can be traced to the boardrooms of corporate America and the oppressive dictatorships of China. It could be said that it, too, is a product of the blending of Eastern and Western cultures.
Physically, the Alliance is comprised of all the known settled worlds. There are Core or Central planets which are assumed to be the founding planets of the Alliance. They are prosperous, beautiful worlds with seemingly happy and hard-working (and rich) citizens. They are administered and run with clock-work efficiency. The Core planets are strictly policed and offer the best in technology and amenities. Technology, however, is expensive. And the Alliance is not only in the business of government, but of industry as well. It is in their interest to keep the money close at hand. The farther you move outward from the Central planets, technology becomes harder to come by and more expensive to attain. The Border and especially the frontier worlds are more recently settled and have little technology. Although part of the Alliance, they are largely self-governed by necessity. These worlds have little resources and the Alliance has only so much manpower to police the system. The Alliance provides settlers with supplies for basic colonization. The settlers then are expected to make their own way with what they have, to work diligently towards becoming contributing, productive members of the Alliance.
In order to maintain control of its member worlds, the Alliance boasts a highly effective and strictly regimented military force and a perhaps less effective and overly organized Federal police force. The vast size of the Alliance offers protection to many worlds and yet allows corruption to take root both within and on individual worlds. It is a giant entity that has many eyes and ears. But all of the information and data flowing into it has to be collated, analyzed, decided upon and then distributed through its many arms and legs. Like most man-made bureaucracies, it is flawed in the fact that the plumbing can become clogged at any number of junctures. And like most entities of its type, it overcompensates for these flaws by creating stricter rules, laws and controls which further clog the system with bureaucratic red-tape and suffocate the people it governs. It is an inefficient system which works by the sheer size and power wielded by the Alliance.
Although the Alliance is largely portrayed as oppressive and even evil in its intentions in some cases, the point can be raised that it was, in fact, an answer to a problem waiting to happen. Without the strength of an overbearing government alliance of the settled worlds, it is easy to see the potential for squabbles and even outright war being waged on many fronts between the worlds. Perhaps in time the Alliance will evolve into an entity more democratic in nature. As Shepherd Book pointed out, "a government is made up of people." The beauty of the Core planets and the numbers of people who supported Unification and the Alliance seem to be clear evidence that the Alliance government is not the evil entity sometimes portrayed. However, there are also many facts against the Alliance. As barely supporting border and frontier worlds with technology and medicine, and also the recent broadcast of the happenings at the world Miranda. Citizens on the Core would say the Alliance is a good thing, citizens on the border/frontier would say they could Chui Se (go to hell).
Credits: http://www.browncoats.com/index.php?ContentID=42e83ac714390
Edited by ShinLi, Feb 16 2009, 01:21 PM.
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