<strong>Earth That Was and the Start of a New Age</strong><br/>The United States and China, the two great superpowers of the Earth, gradually grow together and form the Anglo-Sino Alliance (though their empires remain separate), rather than killing each other as originally predicted. In a somewhat ironic reversal, the American Empire annexes England.<br/><br/>The Earth is "used up," rendering it uninhabitable, as the planet cannot handle the growing population and resource needs of humankind. Amazingly enough, instead of wiping itself out, the human race rises to the challenge of finding a new home for the species. A nearby star is located, with a new solar system that is home to dozens of planets and hundreds of moons, almost all of which have enough mass and solidity to be templates for new Earths.<br/><br/>Humanity emigrates to this new solar system en masse, with every person willing and able to leave the Earth migrating there to colonize its worlds. The journey takes so long that an entire generation never even sees the outside of a spaceship, but the planets are ready for habitation and civilization begins to rebuild.<br/><br/>America and China work together throughout the colonization process, and their cultures gradually meld at many levels. Over time, American and Chinese culture meld together to the point that English and Mandarin even become integrated languages.<br/><br/>The two central, major planets that form the Core of this new system are Sihnon (an outgrowth of Chinese influence) and Londinium (an outgrowth of American influence).  As Sihnon develops, it is more crowded and more complicated, but ultimately not that different, from other developed planets. The Great City itself is said to be "like an ocean of light," in a way that cannot be captured by pictures.  Several other planets in the system are also considered part of the Core, including Ariel and Osiris. Ariel is quite a nice place, by most accounts, with beautiful museums, some of the finest restaurants in the Core, and the opportunity to go hiking or swim in a bioluminescent lake.<br/><br/><br/><strong>Rough History of the Expanding 'Verse</strong><br/>Humanity continues to spread out throughout the system, terraforming and colonizing hundreds of new Earths. Some are rich and flush with new technologies, while others struggle to get by with the most basic equipment, though all are as close to Earth-That-Was as the terraforming process allows.<br/><br/>Every planet that is terraformed for human life has its own "little quirks," amongst them Bowden's Malady, an extremely degenerative affliction of the bone and muscle that can nevertheless be treated effectively with regular doses of Pasceline D. One planet in the Georgia System, in particular, finds that the air down underground, mixed up with the ore processors, is a perfect recipe for the disease. Everybody in the mining community of Paradiso on that planet eventually comes down with Bowden's, even those who have never set foot in a mine.<br/><br/>As the Alliance terraforms its border moons, settlers are dumped there with nothing but blankets, hatchets, and maybe a herd. Some of these moons manage to make it, but others end up in bad shape, suffering plagues and famine--though some of the reports of such suffering are exaggerated.<br/><br/>There is a call for settlers on Miranda, a world at the far edge of the system in 2506. Thirty million people settle there, and the Alliance mixes a chemical called the Pax into the air processors in an effort to curb aggression. The chemical is too effective, with the majority of the population becoming so passive that they eventually die. However, a tenth of one percent of the population have the opposite reaction, becoming uncontrollably violent.<br/><br/>The Alliance sends a team to investigate what happened on Miranda, but they are all killed on the planet. One scientist survives long enough to send a message with their findings, along with a few of the images they had recorded of the dead, but she is killed in the midst of sending the signal.  The Alliance suppresses the secret of their failed experiment on Miranda, along with any record on the Cortex of the planet's existence. Rumor spreads that Miranda is a black rock, where the terraforming didn't hold, and that just a few settlers died.(This information is not made public until a broadwave put out by the crew of the Serenity in 2018.)<br/><br/>The central planets of the Core which form the Anglo-Sino Alliance decide that all of the settled planets have to join under their rule.  There is some disagreement on that point.  As a result, the Alliance wages the War to Unite the Planets (or Unification War) to bring those planets under their rule, fighting against the Independent Faction, also known as Browncoats.   War broke out in 2506 and lasted until 2511.<br/><br/>(The television series runs through Late May 2517 to Late May 2518.  The movie is set in August 2518, approximately.)<br/><br/><em>Information is from the complied timeline on this (http://www.mts.net/~arphaxad/firefly.html) fansite.</em><br/><br/><strong>Since then...</strong><br/>2518 – Alliance tries to suppress and discredit the broadwave, always denying the information.<br/><br/>By September several Rim planets declare their independence from the Alliance<br/>Reaver attacks become more targeted and frequent, nearly decimating the Rim planet Lilac.<br/><br/>December 2518, the Federation of Independent Planets (FIP) is formed, causing a great deal of uproar within the Alliance Parliament.<br/><br/>January 2519, the FIP declares war on the Alliance, attacking bases and strongholds within the Rim.<br/>July 2519, Border planet, Newhall declares it’s independence and joins FIP.  Alliance retaliates and cracks down, finally brutalizing the planet into declaring allegiance once more by early 2520.<br/><br/>2520 – Alliance forms a tight blockade around the Core and loose one around the Border planets.  FIP ships are banned from entering and only ships that swear to avoid FIP planets are allowed through.<br/><br/>2521 – a flotilla of ships from various FIP planets attacks the battle cruiser Scarenti in Dago sector.  Though the attack was coordinated, discipline broke down after several days of bombardment on the cruiser.  After three days the last of the FIP ships abandoned the attack, leaving the cruiser severely damaged and barely running.  This is the first show of ship-board weapons on an Independent ship since the war.  Shock among the civilians in the Core, harsh retaliation demanded.<br/><br/>Companion and Trader’s Guilds call for peace and declare neutrality.  Corone Mining and United Scrap firmly declare allegiance to the Alliance .<br/><br/>Independent Scrappers begin attacking United Scrap ships at reclamation sites.<br/><br/>2522 – Alliance officially declares war on the FIP and it’s allies.  Begins a campaign of hunting down FIP sympathizers on the Core and Border.  Sends out ships to attack known FIP hotspots, mainly skirmishes.  Has a bounty on the heads of the leaders of FIP, hard time pinning them down as they are always on the move.<br/><br/>2523 – Rumors begin flying that Corone Mining is attempting to infiltrate and sabotage independent mines and processing plants.  The rumors gain traction after a catastrophic accident on Haven which had finally begun to rebuild after the attack in 2518.<br/><br/>Rumors also begin to spread that the Alliance is collecting survivors of attacks to be used as slave labor by Corone Mining Company.<br/><br/>In the middle of a skirmish between FIP vessels and an Alliance convoy, the Alliance ships are attacked by Reavers.  Though the Reaver ships are easily destroyed, it is the first documented case of such an attack.  This leads to supposition in the Core that FIP is being aided by Reavers.<br/><br/>2524 - The blockade around the Border worlds is growing harder to evade.  Game begins, March 2524.