THE NEW WORLD ORDER — 2100: The War of the Ten Crowns
Ten civilizational empires vie for control of Earth and the solar system under the fragile rules of Pax Historia.
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World Description
In 2100, twelve billion human beings live under ten civilizational empires that have replaced the former nation-states. Near space has become an industrial and military infrastructure: low Earth orbit is saturated with approximately fourteen thousand strategically significant objects, the Moon is divided into four militarized zones, Mars is home to 240,000 inhabitants who are still dependent on regular cargo shipments, and several asteroids are mined for iron, nickel, water, and rare metals. The gravitational warp drive discovered in 2068 has shortened travel within the solar system without eliminating logistical constraints: the Moon can be reached in hours, Mars in days depending on orbital windows, and nearby asteroids are accessible, but interstellar travel remains impossible. Pax Historia, negotiated between 2088 and 2095, authorizes war but imposes three civilizational prohibitions. Voluntarily triggering a Kessler syndrome debris cascade, destroying vital infrastructure protected by the Malthus Article—agricultural domes, large-scale desalination plants, gene banks, and irreplaceable food systems—or launching a major war without a defensible historical Casus Belli subjects a power to being branded a criminal against the species. In Geneva, the Conclave of Memory examines historical precedents and claims. Archivists, however, seek to erase, steal, or falsify the archives capable of legitimizing a war. History has become a strategic resource. The Boreal Dominion of Sarah Kade brings together approximately 6.2 million active military personnel, 14 million reservists, and 3.8 million autonomous systems. Its strength relies on drones, military artificial intelligence, orbital defense, and a highly centralized network. The 1st Orbital Security Command controls the protection of Earth-to-orbit lanes, while Arctic Shield covers Alaska, the Canadian Arctic, and Greenland. Its AEGIS NORTH space network is structured around Citadel Columbia, Fort Liberty, Warehouse N-7, and the Newport Orbital Yards. The DBS Resolute serves as its symbolic flagship. The Unified Kingdoms of the West, led by Henri de Rochefort, maintain approximately 4.4 million active personnel and 11 million reservists. Their advantage lies in multinational integration, financial networks, memorial law, and coalition capability. The European Reaction Corps and the Atlantic Arc Fleet constitute their primary mobile forces. The CROWN ORBITAL space network includes Europa Station, the Verdun Orbital Arsenal, Lagrange-1 Europe, and the Lunar Gate Charlemagne; the RUS Richelieu is their primary command ship. The Vostok Eurasian Sphere of Anastasia Volkova has approximately 5.1 million active personnel and 13 million reservists. Its military is designed to absorb losses, utilize territorial depth, and survive a long war. The Yenisei Army Group, with approximately 1.1 million personnel, and the Eastern Siberian Command form the heart of the front against Horizon. Railways, depots, and nearly 30% of the world's traded wheat are weapons as vital as armored vehicles. The ZVEZDA network includes Novaya Zvezda, the Baikonur Orbital Depot, Ural-9, the Yenisei Storage Array, and Luna Vostok; the VKS Sibir is the flagship. Khaled Al-Najm’s Empire of the Unified Crescent mobilizes approximately 10.5 million active personnel and 29 million reservists. Its power rests on Saharan solar energy, energy infrastructure, Suez, the Red Sea, and lunar Helium-3. The 7th Saharan Army comprises about 2.2 million personnel, but only a fraction can be sustained in the desert simultaneously. The Suez-Red Sea Command protects trade and energy routes. The AL-HILAL network relies on the Al-Najm Orbital Palace, Serenitatis Prime, Red Crescent Depot, and NEOM Spaceworks; the ICU Al-Najm is the imperial flagship. The Union of Solar Lands, led by Amara Okafor, gathers 3.1 billion inhabitants, approximately 17.8 million active military personnel, and 58 million reservists. It possesses the greatest demographic depth but remains underrepresented in space. The Jacob Protection Command defends Jacob’s Ladder, a gigantic project intended to reduce the cost of African access to orbit, while the Great Valley Army protects East Africa. The SUNRISE network includes Lagos Orbital, Jacob Terminal, Kilimanjaro Depot, Congo Resource Platform, and Sunrise Yard. The UTS Uhuru embodies pan-African space ambition. Acharya Bodhi Patel’s Solar Dharma Federation maintains approximately 12.4 million active personnel and 42 million reservists. Its doctrine prioritizes resilience, deep defense, biotechnology, vertical farming, and food security. The Himalaya Command aligns approximately 2.5 million personnel, and the Dharma Indian Ocean Fleet protects maritime routes. The CHAKRA network includes Chakra One, Ashoka Depot, Sriharikota High Orbital, Soma Biological Station, and the Dharma Lunar Relay; the FDS Ashoka serves as the flagship. Lin Yue’s Continuous Horizon Bloc is the leading conventional military power at launch: approximately 14.2 million active personnel, 37 million reservists, 8.5 million autonomous systems, and an industry accounting for nearly 60% of global advanced production. The Northern Systems Army, with about 3.1 million personnel, faces Vostok; the Pacific Command protects Asian trade routes and oceanic power projection. The CELESTIAL GRID network includes Tiangong Prime, the Shanghai-Osaka Orbital Belt, Horizon Depot 12, the Tsuki Industrial Base, and the Asteroid Logistics Authority. The BHC Tianlong is its most prestigious military vessel. Yara Quispe’s Andean-Amazonian League has approximately 3.6 million active personnel and 10 million reservists. It cannot compete in sheer mass with the major blocs, but its doctrine of armed ecology turns the jungle, the Andes, river basins, and biological sanctuaries into defensive depth. The Amazonian Defense Command and the Andean Expeditionary Corps are its primary forces. The INTI network includes Inti Station, Quipu Depot, the Amazon Biosphere Lab, the Andes Launch Relay, and Condor Forward Base; the LAA Inti is the flagship. Jack Marea’s Austral-Oceanic Pact maintains approximately 3.8 million active personnel and 9 million reservists. Its power is maritime: submarines, oceanic drones, fortified archipelagos, and control of transit passages. Blue Water Command and the Equatorial Archipelago Force can sustain a war of movement over thousands of kilometers. The BLUE CONSTELLATION network includes Darwin Orbital, Coral Station, the Malacca Space Logistics Hub, Southern Cross Depot, and Tasman Orbital Yards. The PAO Southern Cross is its flagship. Solveig Iversen’s Union of the White Silence counts only 12 million citizens, with approximately 220,000 active military and 380,000 reservists. It compensates for its demographic weakness through intelligence, climate science, and warp programs that other powers do not fully understand. Its terrestrial relays are dispersed, while its Antarctic and lunar heart remains off the terrestrial map. The WHITE VEIL network includes the Amundsen Orbital Relay, Janus Station, the Far Side Complex, White Vault, and Nacre Depot. The USB Polaris is its official flagship; the existence of the USB Zero is not acknowledged. Mars remains politically fragmented between terrestrial jurisdictions, but a common identity is strengthening. Ares Central, Port Lowell, the Mars Cargo Reserve, and the Phobos Transit Hub are still dependent on monthly deliveries. The Free Consortium operates Phobos as a brokerage hub for weapons, insurance, and freight. Around 16 Psyche, the Children of Psyche live in old habitats and mining tunnels; the industrial installations have become a contested issue between Horizon, the corporations, and pirates. As of January 1, 2100, there are no stable blocs. Vostok and Horizon are already clashing in skirmishes in Siberia; the Crescent and the Solar Lands are vying for the Sahara; the Dominion and Horizon are conducting a limited cyber-orbital war; the Dominion and Solar Lands are clandestinely opposing one another around Jacob; Horizon and the Austral Pact are clashing in the Pacific; Dharma and Horizon are militarizing the Himalayas; the West and the Crescent are competing for influence in the Mediterranean; the Andean League is fighting boreal and corporate interests around the Amazon. Alliances are localized and can differ from one theater to the next. Tensions in Mare Imbrium, at Jacob, on Psyche, and on Mars could transform these limited wars into a general conflict. Terrestrial military geography also relies on distributed regional nodes: Warsaw, Gdańsk, Bucharest, Stockholm, and Athens form the eastern and northern depth of the Unified Kingdoms of the West; Astana and Vladivostok extend Vostok's footprint; Tehran and Casablanca structure the eastern and western wings of the Crescent; Kinshasa and Niamey support the Solar Lands; Kathmandu, Colombo, Hanoi, Bangkok, Santiago, Buenos Aires, Manila, and Suva complete the networks of the other empires. Jacob’s Ladder is a true space elevator whose oceanic anchor is located on the equator in the Gulf of Guinea, connected politically and logistically to Lagos. Its survival is directly tied to the ability of the Solar Lands to massively reduce the cost of access to orbit. The internal peace of the Ten Crowns is as fragile as their borders. Governors, unions, industrial leaders, scientific councils, and general staffs defend diverging interests. Each leader starts with a specific budget, reserves, dependencies, and crisis dossier in their “Means and Commitments” register. These financial data points are fictional game conventions common to all ten empires; the proposed decisions have not yet been taken. Ordinary operations are funded, but new wars, reforms, and major projects require strategic arbitration. Jacob’s Ladder is not yet in commercial service: certification, load testing, and final hookups remain to be financed and completed. On Mars, the Civic Delegation manages the collective survival account; Mercer is its spokesperson. The middlemen of Phobos, the Children of Psyche, and the Archivists possess limited resources and pursue their own agendas. A crisis can lead to reform, coalition, revolution, independence, or compromise; no collapse is predetermined.