The Starship Commander's Tactical Battle Simulator (C) Copyright 1993 William D. Hause The Universal World Federation is the name given to the United Countries on Earth and those Earth colonies on other planets which remain loyal to the Earth. The National Federation was formed in the year 2022 when the three major capitalist super-powers (The United States of America, Japan, and European Alliance) decided to unite under a single government for economic reasons. By the year 2055 the other nations of the earth had joined the Federation either voluntarily or by force. The most important and revolutionary discovery since Einstein's theory of general relativity was made in the year 2054 by a group of scientists working for the Andromedan Corporation. The Andromedan Corporation is the worlds main producer of space probes and exploration vehicles. These scientists developed theories and made discoveries regarding the existence of fourth dimensional space which later led to the development of a space warping device by which matter could be transported over a short distance without passing through the space between the starting and ending points. By the late 21st century on Earth, it became possible for people to travel virtually instantaneously to any other part of the world via space warp transporters at a negligible cost. The natural barriers which at one time separated the people of the Earth into different countries, races, and cultures were all but a distant memory. Inter-racial marriages soon became commonplace and by the late 22nd century the vast majority of the human population was made up of a single homogenous race of people. Needless to say, racism was now a thing of the past. In the year 2074 the first warp engine was made by the Andromedan corporation. This engine could only move a ship at slow speeds at a great energy cost and was therefore not practical at that time. As technology advanced, new sources of energy such as matter-antimatter power generators were developed. Warp engines then became the main source of propulsion for spacecraft. The materials needed for the matter-antimatter reaction to occur were rare and expensive. An abundance of these materials was eventually discovered by the Andromedan Corporation on a planet located 12,000 parsecs from Earth. This planet was known then only as planet AXJ-74. Despite the ten years required to get there, it was quickly colonized by the people of Earth. In the year 2195 the people of this planet revolted against the Federation and formed their own government. They became known as the Andromedans. Other planets were colonized and many of them became nations in their own right. Eventually the people of these new planetary nations decided that they should all be united and the Universal World Federation was created. The first alien intelligent life was discovered by Federation explorers in the year 2138 on a planet 15,000 parsecs from Earth. The people on this planet were living in their stone age and were very barbaric in their ways having no respect for life whatsoever. They were reptilian in appearance and were found to be highly intelligent. These newly discovered alien people were anarchistic and had no single name for themselves. Because of their savage ways and their lizard like appearance the Federation people referred to them simply as "The Barbarizards". Many people in the Federation felt it was not politically correct to refer to these people by the name Barbarizard so they formed a committee of Barbarizards to decide on a new official name for their people. The Barbarizards didn't know what the word barbarian meant in English so the Federation representatives explained it to them in order that the Barbarizards would understand why they needed a new name. Once the Barbarizards were made to understand that the meaning of the word barbarian is "a savage, cruel, brutal, rude, uncivilized person", the Barbarizard committee immediately decided that the name Barbarizard fit their people perfectly, and the name Barbarizard was made official by unanimous vote. The Barbarizards were eager to learn from the Federation, and soon adapted English as a second language. The Barbarizards were both educated and exploited by the Federation. They were given the latest Federation technology which they used against the Federation in order to gain their independence in the year 2218. The Barbarizards because of their barbaric nature became the most feared enemy of both the Federation and Andromedan Empires. Due to the great distances between the planets the Barbarizards, at that time, were not a great threat to humanity. Shortly after the discovery of the Barbarizards, another intelligent species of people was discovered in the year 2142. These people called themselves by no one name for they were not united. They lived in small tribes and villages and many of these tribes only survived by raiding the farming villages. These people called their planet Vikon and became known to the people of Earth as the Vikonians. The people of Earth gave the gift of technology to the Vikonians as they had not yet learned their lesson from the Barbarizards. In the year 2225 the Vikonians gained their independence. While the Vikonians are not as cold blooded as the Barbarizards, they do continue to survive by stealing from nearby planets and passing ships. For this reason they are considered to be a menace by the Federation. Over the years 54 other intelligent alien beings have been discovered however none have been interfered with in any way and all of them are thousands of years behind the Federation in technology. If there are other races which are more advanced than the Federation, they apparently don't want to be discovered. It has long been known that Humans, Barbarizards, and Vikonians are genetically incompatible. These different peoples can not be bred to produce offspring, even under laboratory conditions. Growing interspecies hatred and prejudice can not be overcome in the same way by which racism among humans on Earth was eliminated. There shall never be homogenization of the empires. Logically there will eventually be only one intelligent species filling the evolutionary niche occupied up until now by each intelligent species on their respective home planets. The people of the four super empires are aware of this fact and will fight to the death to ensure the survival of their kind. It is now the year 2320. The Federation and Andromedan Empires have formed an alliance to protect themselves from the Barbarizard-Vikonian threat. There has been peace for over 100 years but now tensions are building between the Federation-Andromedan alliance and the Barbarizard, and Vikonian empires. Battles have been breaking out all over the galaxy. You are the commander of a starship or perhaps a fleet of starships. It is your job to defend your empire and win the war for your people. ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º Civilization Profiles º ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³ The National Federation ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ The National Federation is both the largest and the oldest of the four existing empires. The Home planet of the National Federation is the Earth. The National Federation is made up of over 45 Billion people, 35 Billion of which reside on Earth. The people of the National Federation enjoy a high standard of living and are moving toward a highly socialized form of government. Their government currently spends slightly over half of the nations Gross Domestic Product, mostly on social programs and defense. The National Federation has the slowest economic growth rate of the four empires but is still far ahead of the Barbarizard and Vikonian empires in per capita income. The National Federation has the largest and most advanced military of the four empires. Their primary military weapon is the Electron Torpedo, but most of their ships are also equipped with Disintegrators. The National Federation is idealistic when it comes to war and they are rarely the aggressors in a conflict. Currently the most controversial issue in the National Federation is the need to destroy all alien intelligent races. About 65% of the population believe it is necessary, and 35% believe it is unnecessary and wrong. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³ The Barbarizard Empire ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ The Barbarizard Empire is made up of a barbaric warier race of lizard like beings out to destroy or enslave all other races of intelligent beings. The Barbarizard Empire has a population of about 18 Billion individuals. The Barbarizard Empire has a militaristic, totalitarian government. There is no clear separation between the military and non-military sectors. All citizens are assigned a military rank and are prepared to fight. There is no room for the weak in their society and killing is not illegal as long as it is done in a fair fight. The Barbarizard military is the second largest, and the fastest growing. Many people of all empires consider the Barbarizard military to be the most powerful in the universe due to the ferocious nature of its personnel. The primary weapon used by the Barbarizard military is the Antimatter Torpedo which is comparable to the electron torpedo in range, accuracy and destructive power. Most of the Barbarizard Gross Domestic Product is produced on its five slave planets. About 90% of the GDP is used to finance the military with the other 10% being used to sustain the slave planets. The Barbarizards believe themselves to be the master race with all other species of intelligent live being placed here to serve them. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³ The Andromedan Empire ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ The Andromedan Empire is similar to the National Federation as far as international interests go, however the Andromedan government is small and favors economic competition in the public sector rather than government regulated commerce. The population of the Andromedan Empire is about one fifth of that of the National Federation yet their GDP is almost as large as that of the National Federation. The Andromedans believe that the primary purpose of government is to maximize corporate prosperity. In the past, only a small portion of the GDP has been spent on the military however with the growing Barbarizard threat they have been forced to increase spending. The primary weapon used by the Andromedan military is the Drone. The Andromedan drone is unique in that it has the ability to store up large amounts of energy in its batteries. The batteries used on Andromedan drones emit deadly radiation while charging and discharging and therefore must be kept far from the crew of the Andromedan ships. Andromedan ships locate their drone bays at the end of a long extension projecting from the rear of the ship. The ship is heavily shielded from the radiation emitted by the drone's batteries. Andromedan ships use Disintegrators for defense against enemy drones. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³ The Vikonian Empire ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ The Vikonian Empire is the smallest of the four empires. The Vikonian government is almost powerless and simply acts to provide some unity among the Vikonian tribes. The Vikonians are predators who believe the strong should take from the weak. About half of the Vikonian GDP is derived from robbing alien ships and raiding alien planets. The Vikonians do not consider themselves to be at war with the National Federation or the Andromedan Empire however the Vikonians still make frequent raids on their planets, bases and ships. The National Federation and the Andromedan Empire have made control of the Vikonian menace a high priority. The Primary weapon used by the Vikonians is the Neutron Torpedo. The Neutron torpedo causes little or no damage to its target except that it emits deadly radiation which kills all types of life on the targeted vessel. This allows the Vikonian attackers to easily board and capture alien ships intact. Vikonian ships carry disintegrators for defense against enemy drones. ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º Historical Time Line º ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ 2022 - The United States, Japan, and the European Alliance form The National Federation. 2054 - Scientists at the Andromedan Corporation develop a space warping device by which matter can be transported over short distances without passing through the space between the starting and ending points. 2055 - All Earth nations are now members of the National Federation. 2074 - The first self transporting space warp engine is developed by the Andromedan Corporation. 2090 - People routinely travel around the world via fourth dimensional space warp transporters. 2125 - Matter-antimatter power generation becomes a reality. 2129 - Starships are equipped with space warp engines. 2134 - The first alien intelligent life is discovered by National Federation explorers. These people later become known as the Barbarizards. 2142 - The second alien species of intelligent life is discovered. These people call their planet Vikon and become known as Vikonians. 2156 - Planet AXJ-74 is colonized by the Andromedan corporation for purposes of mining. 2195 - The AXJ-74 colony revolts and forms its own government. They become know as the Andromedans. 2218 - The Barbarizards revolt against National Federation rule and gain their independence. 2225 - The Vikonians revolt and gain their independence. 2280 - The Barbarizard Empire declares war on the Andromedans and the National Federation. 2282 - The Andromedans and the National Federation form a tight alliance almost making themselves a single nation. 2320 - Present day. The war is really starting to get going. It won't be long before there is only one technologically advanced intelligent race left in the known universe. Who will it be?