A human being is slaughtered somewhere in
the galaxy, every minute of every day of every year. Alien empires, mindless terrors
and traitorous secessionists threaten the harmony of mankind’s dominion. But if a single
promise holds true across the bloody stars, it is this; Whoever you are, wherever you come
from, your death does not need to be in vain; for anyone who dies free… dies for Super Earth. The Federation of Super Earth is the sole
legal government of the human species. A sprawling interstellar dominion, its authority
extends from the bustling heart of civilization on Super Earth prime, to the enigmatic,
uncharted realms that lie beyond the great frontier. Between these two extremes are the
countless planetary systems mankind has settled; each a unique jewel in the Federation’s crown.
A vast mosaic of cultures, ideas and innovations define the interstellar nation, and together,
are bound to a common destiny, or shared fate. Surrounded by hostile alien powers, the citizens
of the Federation are currently in the midst of a series of defensive wars. This prolonged
struggle, centuries in duration, has molded the character of Super Earth in profound
ways. And as the state embraces total war, the delineations between its civil society and
wartime militarization are increasingly blurred. The government of Super Earth
operates as a Federal Republic, founded on traditional Super Earth values
such as freedom, liberty and independence. This is expressed politically through the
concept of “managed democracy” an evolution of the earlier democratic systems that rose
to total dominance in the early 21st century. Through the use of sophisticated computer aided
voting software, the participation of citizens in the democratic process is strategically managed
to ensure individual voters do not need to fully understand key issues or positions. In
elections, referendums, plebiscites, or policy surveys, citizens are instead
asked a series of questions on how they feel, and their vote allotted to the candidate
who most reflects their position. This approach removes the uncertainty inherent
to earlier democratic forms of governance, in which voters could not grasp the nuances of
every candidate. Super Earth instead utilizes managed democracy to distill the essence of
public sentiment and inform the collective will. Executive authority is held within the
Office of the President of Super Earth, and legislative power exercised by the
Democratic Council of Super Earth. The civil bureaucracy consists of numerous Ministries, each
responsible for specific sectors of governance. Citizens of Super Earth enjoy the highest standard
of living, the greatest liberty, opportunities, and potential for unfettered personal expression
of any human civilization in the galaxy. All citizens are equal and assigned Citizenship
Grade letters that distinguish how they will be segregated based on vocational aptitude, economic
capacity, societal hierarchy, resource allocation, habitation sector or degree of reproductive
freedom. Citizenship points determine a citizen’s grade letter, with Exceptionally Patriotic
Duties awarding more points than other, less demanding roles. This facet of individual
liberty, the foundation of Super Earth society, alongside freedom and independence,
is fiercely promoted and protected through systemic federal surveillance,
censorship, and enforcement agencies. The Galactic Wide Web, upon which interstellar
communications rely, is monitored at all times. A mixture of official government entities
and private citizen’s groups meanwhile, ensure that all conversations related
to Super Earth, whether online or off, are always conducted in a positive and
constructive manner. In the Federation, social awareness and concern is encouraged at
a young age, with children particularly adept at identifying harmful sentiments that more
formal organizations might struggle to detect. The necessity of these programs is evident
in the sheer number of alien sympathizers, terrorist cyborgs and socialists identified
and removed from society each year. Each represents a subversive element that
might have otherwise gone undetected. Hundreds of thousands are routinely
arrested for attempting to damage the ideological purity of the Federation, and
the freedom of expression it holds sacred. The military apparatus of Super Earth is divided
between several branches under a central high command. Yet interstellar campaigns are dominated
by the elite Helldiver Corps. Selected from the massed ranks of the regular army or navy,
Helldivers are highly trained specialists that operate at all times at the pinnacle of
professionalism and proficiency. Small teams of Helldivers or even lone individuals are
routinely deployed from Super Destroyers to the most volatile battlefields in the galaxy;
engaging in high-value target assassinations, activating local kill-zones, or advancing the
cause of democracy in countless other ways. Such is their expertise that, in all the warzones
where Helldivers are deployed, there have been no reported cases of friendly fire, marking an
astonishing record of essentially perfect accuracy As the campaigns against the enemies of
Super Earth continue to expand and evolve, the iconic image of the Helldivers has become
a powerful symbol routinely utilized in state communications. Individual Helldivers of
particular note can easily be elevated to celebrity status across Super Earth,
with billions following their exploits to eventual martyrdom. Through the exploits and
sacrifices of the most legendary Helldivers, the history of Super Earth
itself is indelibly intertwined. The Federation emerged from the last great
conflicts that rocked Super Earth in the mid 21st century. Critical to its foundation in this
early chaotic period, were the predecessors of the Helldivers, a legion of armed security personnel
that crushed the rampant civil disobedience that had threatened to destroy the Federation before
it could begin. As this new union ventured into space, Super Earth’s mandate became absolute:
the sole governing authority of the human race. Contact with alien civilizations followed
this period of exploration and colonization. But while the initial exchanges were
peaceful and beneficial to all parties, the government of Super Earth quickly became
aware of the true extent of the danger the human race was facing. The threat of the Terminids
was among the first to be uncovered; a ravenous, shape-shifting plague of insects whose terrible
nature precluded any kind of coexistence. Almost concurrently, the Illuminate, or “Sq'uith”
as they called themselves, were discovered to be an advanced, but equally hostile alien
civilization. Their secret development of world-destroying devices was carefully
hidden behind convincing peace-offerings, forcing a preemptive strike on their worlds,
once Super Earth uncovered evidence of their weapons programs. At this same time, the
Cyborg Nation, a conclave of augmented human terrorists based in distant Cyberstan,
conducted a mass terror attack on one of Super Earth’s most important city-worlds,
killing thousands of innocent civilians. Though fighting on a multitude of
different fronts across the galaxy, with hundreds of thousands of Helldivers
deployed on dozens of worlds, the conflict succeeded in uniting the disparate elements
of Super Earth society. Patriots could be more easily rewarded based on their
contributions to the war effort, while the subversive elements of society
were no match for emergency wartime measures. It took decades of war, before Super Earth
ultimately triumphed over its hostile rivals. On Kepler Prime, the conquered homeworld of the
Terminids, an astonishing discovery was made; vast quantities of oil. A natural
byproduct of their alien biology, the substance was discovered to be essential
to solving Super Earth’s rising energy demands. In a gracious act, the annihilation
of the Terminid race was suspended, and studies conducted on how they might be
safely bred while their oil was refined. The weapons of mass destruction developed by the
Illuminate were likewise seized before they could be deployed, preventing the annihilation
of Super Earth and countless other worlds. In the terms of their surrender, the Sq'uith
survivors forever renounced the use of force, and transferred to Super Earth, all information
related to their weapons technology. Cyberstan too was eventually occupied and
its population was for the first time able to participate in free and open democratic elections.
The transition to democracy was a fragile one, but carefully supervised by a vast occupational army,
and the Super Earth Construction Company, which won the bid to assume control over Cyberstan’s
massive forges and industrial complexes. Upon bringing each of these destructive
conflicts to an end, Super Earth moved to demobilize, and reverse the extreme militarism
that had taken root in these conflicts. But in each case, Super Earth’s desire for a lasting
peace was revealed as premature. The Terminid breeding program led to an ecological disaster,
with new swarms growing at an exponential rate that could not be safely managed. The surrender
of the Illuminate was likewise exposed as a ruse, meant to cover the development of weapons of
mass destruction using advanced alien technology. And in one of Super Earth’s most important city
worlds, terrorists from Cyberstan killed thousands of innocents in a brutal declaration of war on
the principles of democracy, liberty, and freedom. Over a hundred years of war these
threats were crushed, rose again, and were crushed once more. Through it all,
the resilience of Super Earth never faltered, winning through to absolute victory. The Great
Democratization, a new wave of settlement made possible by Illuminate technology and fueled by
Terminid oil, expanded the frontiers of humanity a thousandfold, and created the conditions for an
immutable peace, one that would never be broken. But as Super Earth enters its second century,
the unthinkable has happened. The Terminids have broken free of their containment protocols and are
now spreading at an exponential rate. Automatons, mechanized soldiers of a kind never
before seen have likewise brought death and disenfranchisement to citizens across
the galaxy. The socialist policies of these merciless killing machines leave little
room for doubt that Cyberstan is somehow involved. While the complete silence from the
Illuminate can mean only one thing: a hidden weapons program is being developed in secret,
one aimed at the heart of Super Earth itself. On every world over which the flag of Super Earth
flies free, the Helldivers are being mobilized. Every day, armadas of Super Destroyers
head to the battlefields of the frontier, ready to deliver democracy wherever it might be
needed next. Already the names of distant worlds and the martyrs who died there have become
legendary, and all of Super Earth stands united behind this great final effort to
bring an ultimate peace to the galaxy. There can be no surrender. For even if Super
Earth itself were occupied or destroyed, the survivors would be honor bound to
escape to some distant part of the galaxy, to rebuild, rearm, and continue the
struggle once more from a new world, A new start on a new Super Earth. It wouldn’t,
after all, be the first time that happened.
