The Genesis Projects, most of which were started during the
Great Push were a series of organised long term efforts to bring life to lifeless worlds where they were potentially capable of supporting it. Philosophically, the injunction to bring life to lifeless worlds was an exhortation of the
Society Of Contemporary Races with the more strongly worded instruction that colonies should tred lightly on existing ecosystems and that for every rich prize that might make a wonderful home for a starfaring species, a new barren world ought to be opened up in payment. Non-interference with intelligent life once it had reached the point of writing its own history, need not preclude settlement prior to that point.
Technically, since
Earth did not belong to
the Society Of Contemporary Races it was not obliged to follow these guidelines, but out of a spirit of contrition for the
Escaloda extinctions and considering the long term interests of humanity to be accepted as a responsible member of the galactic community,
the Solar Group took a practical and ethical view that it would at least attempt to comply with the desires of the Society which all the farsighted thinkers hoped Earth would ultimately join.
Thinderin,
werm and (to a lesser extent)
viwodian advisors were happy to assist in these endeavors and it is now widely accepted that it was mainly because of the work that humanity had put into the Genesis Projects that
the Society Of Contemporary Races took a pragmatic attitude to the end of the
Limitation after the Pyrian Supernova in 3540, and did not expend the considerable effort that would have been required to reimpose it.
The work required long term multi-generational thinking, and quick results were neither expected nor required. Whilst it was
the First Solar Group that provided the bulk of the financing and scientific advice,
the Void Church also contributed heavily, having a special spiritual interest in the projects.
A sample of some of the more notable Genesis Projects are listed below. By the beginning of the third millenium, there were fifty eight projects in process in total, which compares reasonably well with the number of colony worlds where humans had taken up residence (sixty five). Work on some of these projects was paused during the fragmentation of
the Bubble but none of them were harmed permanently and all were able to restart under
the Second Solar Group
Sol : Mars
Commenced : 2196 Projected Completion : circa 10000
Martian terraforming began in a very limited way with the first colonies after the discovery of the
G-Lift Engine. Human interest in Mars understandably waned with the opening up of interstellar travel following the discovery of the
Flicker Drive in 2268, but it was revived somewhat when both
Thinderin and
Werm representitives expressed their approval of the work that had been done and offered to assist in the continuing effort to transform the planet's atmosphere and hydrological cycle.
Sol : Ganymede
Commenced : 2239 Projected Completion : circa 6000
The plan for Ganymede was to improve the prospects for life in the subsurface oceans, primarily as a possible way to farm adapted species of fish. This kind of project is one that the
Viwodia are particularly experienced in, and it has continued after
Emergence with their help.
Sol : Europa
Commenced : 2275 Projected Completion : circa 5000
Europa was ceded to the
Viwodia since it is well suited for use as one of their colony worlds. It is the most important centre of population for any alien race in the Solar System and it has frequent links to the embassy under Lake Vostok on Earth and to the wider community of
Viwodia in and beyond
the Bubble. Europa was not entirely barren before the
Viwodia arrived but they are in the process of improving it, for the benefit of both the native species and of their own ecosystems. Humans are assisting in this and there is a benefical synergy between the projects on Europa and Ganymede, although their end goals are not exactly the same.
Tau Ceti : Silver
Commenced : 2370 Projected Completion : circa 14000
The Tau Ceti system has two planets which are analogues of Earth and Venus in the Solar system.
Green Home is the Earth equivalent and was a prime target for colonisation, becoming the first world to provide a home for
humanity beyond the solar system. Silver, like Venus, has a high pressure atmosphere and orbits closer to its star than Green Home, but it is not so hot as Venus and the atmospheric pressure and composition are not so hostile. Techniques for bleeding the atmosphere into space, explained by the
Thinderin, promise to reverse the greenhouse effect and make the world habitable in about twelve thousand years.
Sigma Draconis : Geryon V
Commenced : 2412 Projected Completion : circa 5000
The Sigma Draconis system is the location of the human colony moon of
Unity which orbits the third planet (Hatter). The fourth planet is a gas giant called Geryon which orbits the star at about 1.2
AU. The fifth satellite of Geryon has a thin atmosphere and has the potential for liquid water oceans. By adding volatiles using local icy comets, diverted to crash into the surface of Geryon V, the Genesis Project engineers believe they can make the world suitable to support life within as little as three thousand years, making this one of the fastest of the Genesis Projects.
Oberon : Om I
Commenced : 2425 Projected Completion : circa 7000
Om I is the first moon of the planet Om in the Oberon system. Om itself, is barely habitable for humans but does have native species. Om I had an existing atmosphere before Genesis Project work started but the chemical composition rendered it inimicable to life and here the requirement is to reduce the acidity.
HD 191104 : Eyrie
Commenced : 2517 Projected Completion : circa 12000
Eyrie is best known as one of the four founding members of the
Republic. It is a hot, barren, mountainous super earth in a quadruple star system with a thick atmosphere but relatively little water. There is mining for gem stones on the surface even though the world is metal poor. Floating Cloud Cities are attempting to change the atmospheric composition to reduce the greenhouse effect which keeps the temperature too high for unprotected life.
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