Earth History (UPPPM)

History of Earth and the UPPPM.

2072: The technological singularity occurs on Earth, humans begin to integrate into a massive virtual reality, save for a very few tribes and small, impoverished nations.

2102: Traddin slowboats visit the Solar System, find what they think is an abandoned planet, and leave for their next target. When they return to their homeworld they would recommend inhabiting the planet.

2130: Those groups who were not implemented into the VR begin to expand, inhabiting the world that most humans had left behind.

2190: Technological civilization is regained on Earth thanks to the unimplemented groups.

2230: Failed Traddin Warp experiment reaches 0.2c before being converted from matter into energy.

2295: Running out of usable energy, the unimplemented begin to tap energy from the Virtual Reality's power plants. VR-humans notice decrease in simulation fidelity.

2310: VR crashes. No one alive knows how to restart the program as it was created and programmed by a superintelligent A.I. About 40% of humans implemented in the VR survive the crash. (About 8 Billion People)

2311: The start of the Energy Crisis. With 14 billion humans competing for resources. The un-implemented and the ex-implemented humans are essentially at war.

2354: Peace between the two groups, joining into a singular United Earth government. Neither side has the energy resources to fight any longer, technological civilization is on the verge of collapse.

2390-2396: The End of the Energy Crisis. Stable nuclear fusion is started for the first time since 2071, simultaneously a massive solar array is placed below the orbit of Mercury and beams its power back to Earth.

2397: Traddin slowboat returns to Traddel after visiting a total of 11 star systems.

2400: United Earth government looks to the planets and the stars. Habitation of the asteroids, space stations, Mars, and several of the system's moons begin.

2417: Cislunar economy established. Propellant stations in LEO, EMLagrange, and other important locations, fueled by Lunar and asteroidal ice water.

2420: Physicist Neil Trollinger publishes his paper on the Trollinger metric, a feasible solution for quantum spacetime that allows for propulsion via space warp up to the speed of light with extremely reasonable energy requirements.

2431: Trollinger's Challenger test vehicle manages a speed of 0.7c for 72 seconds. The energy and residual effects are noticed by an approaching Traddin colony ship. After the monumental first contact, the captain orders a return to Traddel.

2430s: development of lightspeed warp drives and robotic probes.

2440s: First imaging of nearby exoplanets and stars.

2485: Colony ship departs to settle the snowball planet Proxima Centauri b.

2515: First contact with the Quippor, who live inside a dwarf planet in the Sirius system.

2570: Second contact with the Traddel.

2578:

2600: Engineer team led by physicist Rick Stocker develops the first superluminal warp drive. Theoretically, its speed is unbounded, if you can put enough energy into it.

2610: First contact with Langrel, a world already contacted by the Traddin. The Earth ship arrives in the middle of a battle between a Traddin warship and a city on Langrel.

2623: Formation of the UPPPM.