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-**The Earth of today** is beautiful; a paradise. Lush jungles cover it. Forests buzz and flit with life. The air breathes fresh and clear through proud hills. The sun's rays, hot and vibrant, caress fields of fern and grain, yearning skyward as they whisper sweetly in the wind. Yet behind this facade, our world is dying.
+**The Earth of today** is beautiful; a paradise. Lush jungles cover it. Forests buzz and flit with life. The air breathes fresh and clear through proud hills. Fields of fern and grain whisper sweetly in the wind, yearning skyward to the sun's radiant caress. Yet behind this facade, our world is dying.
- Mankind has always had the tendency to overreach. It’s an overpowering instinct, part of survival; take all you can and leave nothing for the competition. Even as your belly stretches, eat; what you leave will feed your enemy. As a race, Mankind grew to dominance on its home-world of Earth. As a race, it flourished and accomplished unbelievable feats. When all else was conquered however, Mankind turned on the only competition that remained: itself.
+ Mankind has always had the tendency to overreach. It’s an overpowering instinct, the legacy and price of our survival; take all you can and leave nothing for the competition. Even as your belly stretches, eat; what you leave will feed your enemy. As a race, Mankind grew to dominance on its home-world of Earth. As a race, it flourished and accomplished unbelievable feats. When all else was conquered however, Mankind turned on the only resistance that remained: itself.
-Competition has driven Mankind to capitalism, mega-capitalism, then hyper-capitalism. Vast juggernauts of commerce collide, robbing billions of jobs, homes and everything they thought they owned for the profit of the privileged. Resources have been plundered from the Earth and now competition, our double edged sword, forces us to fight for what little we can hold. Recycling is the biggest industry on the planet. Waste of materials – almost any kind – is punishable by slavery; who has supply to spend on homes for criminals? Maximum density housing serves as home for the majority, while simulations beguile our senses. They show us the lives of lions, when in truth we swarm like ants. Reproduction is globally monitored; every country managing a system of merit to determine who has children and who does not. A pair of the most gifted individuals may have 5 or even 6 children, while those less worthy of note have none. All of this is necessary, because for the first time in the history of Mankind, there is no more left to take.
+Competition has driven Mankind from agrarianism to capitalism, then hyper-capitalism. Where in ancient times, an army of thousands would pilliage cities, now, vast juggernauts of commerce collide, robbing billions of jobs, homes and everything they had believed was theirs for the profit of the privileged. In our dominance as a species, we have multiplied like a plague and now competition, our double edged sword, forces us to fight for what little we can hold. Recycling is a species-wide obsession. Waste of materials – almost any kind – is punishable by exile or slavery; to spend resources on vast prisons for criminals is a laughable idea on a world where worth is measured by mass. Maximum density housing serves as home for the majority, while simulations beguile our senses. They show us the lives of lions, when in truth we swarm like ants. Reproduction is globally monitored; every country managing a system of merit to determine who has children and who does not. A pair of the most gifted individuals may be sponsored to have 5 or even 6 children, while those less worthy of note have none. All of this is necessary, because for the first time in the history of Mankind, there is no more left to take.
-In the midst of all this, a few idle thinkers might consider that Mankind’s survival could never balance on the edge of a knife as it does, were it not for a single technology. IRIS, the Intelligent, Reconstructive, Integrated System. A colony of nano-machines growing within every Human being, even before birth. Most people think of it no more than they might consider their clothes or a watch. It is simply a part of life. Nonetheless, as a medical achievement it has single-handedly banished disease, deformity and even poor hygiene to the realms of horrifying stories from the past. Crude, barbaric times when surgery was a risk and addiction could cost someone everything they valued in life. However overlooked, it is arguable that IRIS alone has carried our civilization through its last two generations, through this hell of predation, starvation and poverty. We have become something almost beyond Human. A race that poets and storytellers might once have dreamed about in reverie. Yet, somehow in this age of wonders, as myth has cooled into hard reality, the only truth that endures is survival of the fittest.
+In the midst of all this, a few idle thinkers might consider that Mankind’s survival could never balance on the edge of a knife as it does, were it not for a single technology. IRIS, the Intuitive, Reconstructive, Integrated Symbiotics. A colony of nano-machines growing within every Human being, even before birth. Most people think of it no more than they might consider their clothes or a watch. It is simply a part of life. Nonetheless, as a medical achievement it has single-handedly banished disease, deformity and even poor hygiene to the realms of horrifying stories from the past. Crude, barbaric times when surgery was a risk and addiction could cost someone everything they valued in life. However overlooked, it is arguable that IRIS alone has carried our civilization through its last two generations, through this hell of predation, starvation and poverty. We have become something almost beyond Human. A race that poets and storytellers might once have dreamed about in reverie. Yet, somehow in this age of wonders, as myth has cooled into hard reality, the only truth that endures is survival of the fittest.
-This is not to say that nothing great has been achieved; the steady march of science has elevated us to new heights and not through IRIS alone. Shortly after the turn of the 21st century, quantum theory finally wandered into the “applied” sciences. This lead to breathtaking advances in computer science, among other fields, but what proved to be the most influential development of all, was not new physics applied to old ideas or even combinations of such things as IRIS is. Instead it took the form of an idea so new that nothing like it had ever been realised before; quantum entanglement. The concept is simple enough; that two particles can be linked. An event so minute as to seem meaningless. When they become entangled however, something fascinating happens. It is possible to say that their “fates” become intertwined: whatever happens to one particle, exactly the same thing happens to the other, at exactly the same time, regardless of the distance between them. The implications are already great for such a bond, but one man dreamed bigger still and in more directions than one; two, to be precise. He was the first to demonstrate that by linking two volumes of space with quantum entanglement and exchanging these volumes, it was possible to move virtually anything faster than light. This mode of transport became known as “the JAB” after its creator, James Alexander Budgeby. With that, our story can truly begin.
+This is not to say that nothing great has been achieved; the steady march of science has elevated us to new heights and not through IRIS alone. Shortly after the turn of the 21st century, quantum theory finally wandered into the “applied” sciences. This lead to breathtaking advances in computer science, among other fields, but what proved to be the most influential development of all, was not new physics applied to old ideas or even combinations of such things as IRIS is. Instead it took the form of an idea so new that nothing like it had ever been realised before; quantum entanglement. The concept is simple enough; that two particles can be linked. An event so minute as to seem meaningless. When they become entangled however, something fascinating happens. It is possible to say that their “fates” become intertwined: whatever happens to one particle, exactly the same thing happens to the other, at exactly the same time, regardless of the distance between them. The implications are already great for such a bond, but one man dreamed bigger still and in more directions than one. Two, to be precise. He was the first to demonstrate that by linking two volumes of space with quantum entanglement and exchanging these volumes, it was possible to move virtually anything faster than light. This mode of transport became known as “the JAB” after its creator, James Alexander Budgeby. With that, our story can truly begin.
-In the days before the JAB’s release, its inventor realized a problem. His invention could cross enormous distances, but the overcrowding and shortage facing Mankind were not challenges of distance alone. In all truth, the issue was no more easily solved with faster-than-light travel than it had been before. Many surveys had proven that the asteroid belt was littered with metals, but mining operations were unreliable, as well as dangerous. Planets offered great opportunity, but Terra-formation required hundreds of years. Facilities to withstand extra-Terrestrial conditions were possible, but enormously expensive to build and operate. Amidst all this, the JAB itself couldn’t operate within a gravity field, or in other words, anywhere very close to a planet. Without a surface-to-JAB-range connection of some kind, it was useless: “All we have to do is build a star-port on Uranus!” became a laboratory joke. It would seem the only viable solution was an Earth-like planet. If one could be found, the JAB would allow us to reach it, virtually regardless of distance. From that point it would be relatively simple to colonize. Launch- and drop- pods would move things to orbit, where they could easily be moved to JAB range, and vice versa. The only problem was that no Earth-like planet had been discovered before. Budgeby’s mind turned to another angle. Instead of finding a different solution, he would instead solve a different problem. His creation would find a new Earth.
+In the days before the JAB’s release, its inventor realized a problem. His invention could cross enormous distances, but the overcrowding and shortage facing Mankind were not challenges of distance alone. In all truth, the issue was no more easily solved with faster-than-light travel than it had been before. Many surveys had proven that the asteroid belt was littered with metals, but mining operations were unreliable, as well as dangerous. Planets offered great opportunity, but terraformation required hundreds of years. Facilities to withstand extra-terrestrial conditions were possible, but enormously expensive to build and operate. Amidst all this, the JAB itself couldn’t operate within a gravity field, or in other words, anywhere very close to a planet. Without a surface-to-JAB-range connection of some kind, it was useless: “All we have to do is build a star-port on Uranus!” became a laboratory joke. It would seem the only viable solution was an Earth-like planet. If one could be found, the JAB would allow us to reach it, virtually regardless of distance. From that point it would be relatively simple to colonize. Launch- and drop- pods would move things to orbit, where they could easily be moved to JAB range, and vice versa. The only problem was that no Earth-like planet had been discovered before. Budgeby’s mind turned to another angle. Instead of finding a different solution, he would instead solve a different problem. His creation would find a new Earth.
-At the JAB’s first unveiling, the world had gone insane. Every major country, corporation and affluent individual of note wanted to be the one with rights to a new planet. A planet that would save Earth, but more importantly, a planet that would make the discovering party rich beyond their wildest dreams for a very, very long time. It wasn’t long before the UN reminded all interested parties that claiming land off-planet was illegal. Just as planting a single flag on the Moon hadn’t made it American soil so many years before, landing on a new world today didn’t make it yours. The only legal way to claim land was colonization. Even then, a facility was only considered a colony if a population was present and crops were being grown. Ten acres was the hard limit. Thankful for the breathing room, the only licensed manufacturer of JABs was quick to pledge full cooperation. Plans were drawn and methods of working around UN stipulations explored. In the mean time however, space exploration began on an awesome scale. Autonomous constructs were fitted with JABs, each boldly emblazoned with the logos and tag-lines of its sponsors. They were programmed to report home when they found something of promise. As probe after probe blinked into space, a great surge of hope washed over Humanity. Soon, surely we would be saved. A month passed in silence. Then six months. Hope faded. People sank back into their routines. Six more years passed without a single sign.  Resentment grew bitter. Some cursed the day they had invested themselves in such nonsense. More years went by. With a decade of hind-sight it seemed so obviously an idyllic fantasy. Most had all but given it up for a pipe-dream, until one day, it wasn’t.
+At the first JAB probe’s unveiling, the world had gone insane. Every major country, corporation and affluent individual of note wanted to be the one with rights to a new planet. A planet that would save Earth, but more importantly, a planet that would make the discovering party indescribably rich for as many lifetimes as you cared to name. It wasn't long before the UN, which was somehow still trundling along, waded into the hubub and reaffirmed that the claiming land off-planet was illegal. Just as planting a single flag on the Moon hadn’t made it American soil so many years before, landing on a new world today didn’t make it yours. In fact, the only legal way to claim land was colonization, but even then, a giant mining rig with a "home sweet home" sign on the front door wasn't going to fool anyone. A facility was only considered a colony if a civilian population was present and crops were being grown. Ten acres was the hard limit. Thankful for the breathing room, the only licensed manufacturer of JABs was quick to pledge full observance of the law. Plans were drawn and methods of working around UN stipulations explored. In the mean time however, space exploration began on an awesome scale. Various autonomous constructs were fitted with JABs, each boldly emblazoned with the logos and tag-lines of its sponsors and programmed to report home when they found something of promise. As probe after probe blinked into space, a great surge of hope built in Humanity. The first month passed with unprecedented optimism, only slightly smudged by a complete lack of any returning probe. After six months, the euphoria faded. People sank back into their routines, though some still talked with enthusiasm. Six more years passed without a single sign. Many were resigned to finish their lives and so much hope soured into an equally substantial resentment. Some cursed the day they had invested themselves in such nonsense. More years went by. With a decade of hind-sight it seemed so obviously an idyllic fantasy. Most had all but given it up for a pipe-dream, until one late-October's night.
-Late one October, the autumn chill was just beginning to bite. Heavier clothes had become the norm again and the nights were becoming crisp and clear. One such evening, a blink of light was seen briefly in the Southern sky, only to vanish again moments later. News of the strange sighting spread and when amateur stargazers identified it as a JAB probe, public interest grew. Within hours the net was buzzing with questions and theories, but of answers there were none. Attention turned to the mothballed exploration response facility to find lights on and computer systems -neglected for almost half a decade- running again. Time had taken a toll however. Through the years of fruitless waiting, what had been a prized position became a dubious one, the best and brightest had moved on and eventually only a few were left. One of these was the very person now fumbling tensely through a decoding procedure he had never expected to perform. A man who had been little more than a glorified janitor in the facility he now directed.  Nonetheless, the morning brought with it all the suspense of the previous night. News reporters wrestled for prime microphone positions and the world hung on his every word. Red-eyed and weary, he stood before the stained and neglected facility to relay the incredible news. It was an error. After years of isolation in space, the probe had malfunctioned and reported a false positive. Images of the supposed solution to all Mankind’s problems revealed a frozen ball of rock that was, in every sense of the word, barren.
+The autumn chill was just beginning to bite, a little early that year. Heavier clothes had become the norm again and the nights were becoming crisp and clear. One such evening, just a flicker of light was seen briefly in the Southern sky, only to vanish again moments later. News of the strange sighting spread and when amateur stargazers identified it as a JAB probe, public interest grew. Within hours the net was buzzing with questions and theories, but of answers there were none. Attention turned to the mothballed exploration response facility to find lights on and computer systems -neglected for almost half a decade- running again. Time had taken it's toll on the facility through the years of fruitless waiting however. What had been a prized position became a dubious one, the best and brightest had moved on and eventually only a few were left. One of these was the very person now fumbling tensely through a decoding procedure he had never expected to actually perform. A man who had started out as little more than a glorified janitor in a project he now directed.  Nonetheless, the morning brought with it all the suspense of the previous night. News reporters wrestled for prime microphone positions and the world hung on his every word. Red-eyed and weary, he stood before the stained and neglected facility to relay the incredible news. It was an error. After years of isolation in space, the probe had malfunctioned and reported a false positive. Images of the supposed solution to all Mankind’s problems revealed a frozen ball of rock that was, in every sense of the word, barren.
-A wave of disbelief swept the world. Days went by in something resembling subdued shock. The project had somehow failed Mankind again. People reluctantly turned back to their old habits of struggle, another desperate hope extinguished. Then something strange happened. Other versions of events began to surface. Individuals heard from friends of friends that something was amiss and word spread. Slowly at first, in scattered messages, but with increasing frequency; links to isolated domains began appearing all over the net, posted by anonymous individuals who left no explanation, and equally little trace. These single-page addresses contained only three things: A list of names and an arsenal of evidence, both linked to a single recorded phone call. Not quite a week had passed when the full story exploded across the media channels: conspiracy! It emerged that in the hours spent decoding the message, the lone director of the facility had been contacted in secret. Initially the unknown figures had promised great rewards, but when these were rejected the lives of his family were threatened without hesitation. Under duress, he had picked another planet from the probe’s records and substituted it for the real findings. The recording from the mysterious domains supported every sly promise, every honest rebuttal and every heartless threat. Riots erupted. Individuals from the highest tiers of social and economic power suddenly feared to leave their homes. Their names were on the list. The real findings soon emerged; images of paradise. Mankind had found a new home. A place that one exhausted janitor / director / hero had referred to as a new horizon. The name stuck.
+A wave of disbelief swept the world. Days went by in something resembling subdued shock. Years after all expectations had faded, the project had somehow managed to fail mankind again. People bitterly turned back to their old habits of struggle, another desperate hope extinguished. Then something strange happened. Other versions of events began to surface. Individuals heard from friends of friends that something was amiss and word spread. Slowly at first, in scattered messages, but with increasing frequency; links to isolated domains began appearing all over the net, posted by anonymous individuals who left no explanation, and equally little trace. These single-page addresses contained only three things: A list of names and an arsenal of evidence, both linked to a single recorded phone call. Not quite a week had passed when the full story exploded across the media channels: conspiracy! It emerged that in the hours spent decoding the message, the lone director of the facility had been contacted in secret. Initially the unknown figures had promised great rewards, but when these were rejected the lives of his family were threatened without hesitation. Under duress, he had picked another planet from the probe’s records and substituted it for the real findings. The recording from the mysterious domains supported every sly promise, every honest rebuttal, every heartless threat, until eventually the victim had no choice but to obey. Riots erupted. Individuals from the highest tiers of social and economic power suddenly disappeared in private jets bound for secret destinations. Their names were on the list. With all the net piracy going on, and nobody around to stop it, the real findings soon emerged. They were images of paradise. Mankind had found a new home. A place that one exhausted janitor / director / hero at some point referred to as a new horizon in an interview. The name stuck.
-Public anger at the attempted deception cooled quickly as a new realization set in. The finish line was set and now the race for Horizon had begun. Officials made their apologies or stepped down. Businesses fired their scape-goats. Construction of colony ships began. Little did we know these small betrayals were only a delicate echo of what was to come. Many entities found they lacked the resources or leverage to prepare for a colony by themselves and vast coalitions were formed. None had truly anticipated the scale of the endeavour however; the world’s supply of available materials was consumed in a matter of months. We needed more. For every colonial party that achieved a lead, the frenzy grew. Within weeks, competition reared its head once again and we devoured our own. Vast zones of the Earth were stripped bare of everything they had. Not by mining as had occurred in past times, but through the mass demolition of homes, offices, factories; whatever could be sacrificed for the race. Billions were left homeless. Destitute. There was no government, no charity who could divert the resources needed to stem the tide of refugees, though ironically they themselves were about to become the most valuable resource of all. Ship manufacture was progressing well, limited only be resources. Project directors began laying plans for the long effort of colonisation when suddenly every major party realised one thing: they needed VAST numbers of colonists. Not highly trained professionals, not scientists. Anyone who could lift a shovel would do. A week later, all those left squatting in the rubble of their homes were being promised wealth and land beyond anything they had ever imagined. With nothing to lose, they accepted. Thus were the indenture contracts born.
+Public anger at the attempted deception cooled quickly as a new realization set in. The finish line was set and now the race for Horizon had begun. Implicated officials made their apologies. Politicians stepped down. Businesses fired their scape-goats. Construction of colony ships began. Little did we know these small betrayals were only a delicate echo of what was to come. Many entities found they lacked the resources or leverage to prepare for a colony by themselves and vast coalitions were formed. None had truly anticipated the scale of the endeavour however; the world’s supply of available materials was consumed in a matter of months. We needed more. For every colonial party that achieved a lead, the frenzy grew. Within weeks, competition reared its head once again and we devoured our own. Vast zones of the Earth were stripped bare of everything they had. Not by mining as had occurred in past times, but through the mass demolition of homes, offices, factories; whatever could be sacrificed for the race. Billions were left homeless. Destitute. There was no government, no charity who could divert the resources needed to stem the tide of refugees, though ironically they themselves were about to become the most valuable resource of all. Ship manufacture was progressing well, limited only be resources. Project directors began laying plans for the long effort of colonisation when suddenly every major party realised one thing: they needed VAST numbers of colonists. Not highly trained professionals, not scientists. Anyone who could lift a shovel would do. A week later, all those left squatting in the rubble of their homes were being promised wealth and land beyond anything they had ever imagined. With nothing to lose, they accepted. Thus were the indenture contracts born.
 It became such a success that a process quickly grew to formalize it. A person could give up everything they owned as raw material, sealing a contract to serve their sponsor as a colonist for a number of years. Food, clothing and shelter would be provided during the term and at its conclusion waited years of wages in a lump sum along with a tract of land on the new world of Horizon. For billions upon billions of people living in the concrete hives of maximum density housing, it was a promise of Heaven itself. The destruction was incredible. Fabrication facilities strained under an awesome level of demand they could never have anticipated. Many, then most, began to run without ceasing. Nonetheless, As ships neared completion and recruits streamed in, a kind of lull somehow settled over the competition. Applications could only be handled so fast, factories could only produce so much. It was in the guile of this relative calm that the first ship launched. Shin-Iku enterprises, an influential Japanese technology conglomerate was on its way to Horizon at 2:34AM. By 6AM, desperation had returned. Alliances were confirmed and reassured so feverishly that some broke under the strain. Those almost ready to launch made a final desperate push and took flight however ill-prepared. One ship lifted off still tethered to the dock and crashed, levelling a major star-port and taking a dozen competitors with it. New agreements were forged with those who could still compete, resources were relocated. More ships launched. The crash had inspired a terrible methodology however. More and more often, ships that launched left in their wake as much chaos and destruction as possible. Somehow though the shortages and the handicaps, the last ship for Horizon finally launched. It was barely 6 months since the probe’s message of hope.