A Little Bit of History Excerpt from "A Brief History of the Thirtieth Century" (first published 2999, 3rd reprint, Univer Book Co) Chapter 37 - 'Socio-Political Turmoil in the Early 30th Century.' "The impact on human society due to the sudden introduction of vast quantities of alien technology cannot be underestimated. The initial Earth-Durandal AI contact in the first year of the 29th century was as nothing compared to the arrival of the Tau Ceti survivors in an intact Pfhor FTL supply ship a decade and a half later. "Much of the events surrounding the arrival of the Tau Ceti group remain a mystery, including a 72 hour period between initial detection of the Pfhor ship entering Sol space and its arrival on Earth. Rumours abound of covert operations by, variously: the UEG/UESC, assorted Earth Companies, and other (unknown) organisations inside that area of first contact. Whatever happened within those 72 hours remains a mystery, even to this day. "However, it is a matter of record that when this small group of battle-weary refugees arrived on Earth, they were accompainied by over a dozen lawyers who immediately issued patents on all the technology contained within that vessel. Publically, all rights to these patents were seen to be held by the Tau Ceti survivors, but it is common belief that some kind of third party was secretly involved, with the Tau Ceti group existing merely as a facade for (unknown) big business or political interests. One must wonder how else a small group of 24th century refugees managed to create virtually overnight the largest single Earth-based company ever to have existed. Thus the 'Marathon Planetary Communications Company' was born. "Almost overnight, MPC became the single biggest corporation in Earth's history and it was barely three years before mankind began its expansion to the stars. Immediately, all concepts of natural development of human society went straight out the window. Massive changes in the political and business structures of the time came about virtually overnight as the realisation came that there was effectively no limit on the spread and activities of human society. The fall of the major political institutions - the UESC and UEG - left a power vacuum that was immediately filled by the major business organisations: the Trans-Global Companies, who fell upon this 'Brave New World' of business opportunities with unprecedented vigour. "The inevitability of an Earth-Pfhor war required a rapid and massive increase in industrial output, with the TGCs licensing much of MPC's newly gained FTL and weapons technology. But as the war approached, these companies also developed their own versions of the stolen technologies. The battle with the Pfhor demanded new breeds of soldiers and new types of weapons, both mechanical and biological. This development was headed by GenCorp, one of the fastest growing companies to appear after MPC. And whilst MPC's growth continued even through the war years, there was a conspicuous failure of its management to acknowledge the threat from its new business competitors. "After the end of the war in 2881 MPC rapidly found itself being left behind in the race to explore and colonise the galaxy. The TGCs with their bio-technologies and their long established power structures were better suited to the exploration and colonisation of space, and MPC faced a loss in its market share as its core technologies were copied. With its frequent internal power struggles the entire future of MPC became uncertain. And their battle to recover market share resulted in over 50 localised wars as the relationship between MPC and the TGCs turned from uneasy alliance to bitter hatred." .......................................... "Whilst much of the history of the late 28th and 29th centuries has been accurately recorded, there is much uncertainty about several incidents where MPC and its competitors were involved in direct conflict within some of the more remote areas of the galaxy. In particular, the alleged conflict which is thought to have resulted in the spectacular destruction of several minor star systems near the galactic rim has remained a particular mystery. One thing that is known for certain is the origin of this incident - a remote MPC mining outpost in the little known X-1645 star cluster. "Its name: Troy465......"