The Commonwealth

The last vestiges of Old Earth

The Commonwealth, officially the Commonwealth of Mankind, is the largest nation within the Orion Arm, and also the oldest known to use the Gates. Proclaimed on Centaurus by the civilians of various Earth nations that had, in some capacity, survived the Exodus, the original intent of the Commonwealth's declaration was to prevent the outbreak of war on the planet that would have, in all likelihood, caused human life on Centaurus to go extinct due to the fragility of the artificial exosystems the planet supported. However, the movement quickly grew in popularity, as thousands of citizens wished to reclaim the ideals of the old world United Nations that had once stood as the protector of Earth against the Tarrasque threat. The nation sparked a hope that had been absent for many years, and as the wonders of Arkon technology were uncovered, and the Gates were opened for humanity control, it was the Commonwealth who lead the charge into the black. And so, the Nation of Nations was born.

Structure

The Commonwealth, as its motto "Nation of Nations" suggests, is a Federation with some similarities to the pre-Terrasque USA, European Union, Republic of India, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain, among other nations. The Commonwealth is made of numerous member states - originally the various nations that had survived the Exodus, but in modern times there both old and new world states that constitute the federation - that elects a representative for each planet or major settlement* under their control. In general, the member states of the Commonwealth have autonomy closer to that of the European Union or United Nations than the United States - they are allowed to raise their own private fleets for anti-privacy purposes, hold local elections on a settlement, regional, continental, and even planetary level if they so choose, and vote on many of their own laws. The places where the Commonwealth have control are less numerous, but much more important - states cannot split from the Commonwealth (a clause added due to the threat of war such a declaration has provoked in the past), the Commonwealth enacts National laws such as Capital Crimes, and the Commonwealth upholds a common armed forces, including a united navy called the Commonwealth Naval Command. Many have argued that this system in totality is inefficient; however, as so far, no major reform has been enacted on the system since it was first devised, though there have been serious pushes for less bureaucracy, more direct control by the citizenry, and even for a new constitution in recent years, often from people in the Frontier. There are three main branches to the upper bureaucracy of the Commonwealth - the Executive, Judicial, and Legislative branches - which function similarly to pre-Tarrasque Federal Republics. The Executive branch is lead by the Secretary-General, who is elected once every 5 years by the Legislative branch of government. This is because the Commonwealth is simply too vast to allow direct election of the Secretary-General - not only would there be a significant delay in counting votes, but the security of election ballots would be much easier to compromise if long transit times are factored in. As such, the Secretary-General is voted in by the Commonwealth Parliament, who are a group of, as of 299 AT, 250 representatives elected from local planetary or settlement elections. Finally, there are the Justices - the number of which has fluctuated between 7 and 13 over the years, as each member state can elect a Justice (as long as the final count is odd). Many member states have, in the past, refused to elect a Justice out of protest.

Public Agenda

The original purpose for the Commonwealth's inception was to create an overarching authority that would prevent war between the Nations of humanity that had made it to Centaurus. This goal is still very much at the forefront of the ideals of the Commonwealth, although it has been expanded to suggest that the Commonwealth is dedicated to protecting all humanity against suffering on the scale of the Tarrasque occupation ever again.

Assets

Easily the wealthiest nation in Orion, the Commonwealth has influence over nearly 40 star systems. Although its Nation-states technically have ownership over the various star systems and sectors within the federation, and these systems are subject to laws of the territory they are a part of, the greater Commonwealth state has access, both directly and indirectly, to the vast majority of these resources if necessary. Specifically, the Commonwealth regularly requests portions of asteroid harvests, such as of ice, iron, and rare-earth metals, for the purpose of civil construction or in order to fulfill ship construction orders for the Commonwealth Naval Command. Moreover, the Commonwealth has high amounts of control over various civilian laboratories such as Eden Corporation facilities, and the Commonwealth Naval Exploration Command (CNEC or C-NEC) is the largest organization of its type within Orion, often leading the charge into newly opened gates. The Federation has established territorial claims in over 100 systems total, although the actual control of those newly discovered systems is questionable. Officially, the Commonwealth has direct control over only 3 systems - Alpha Centauri, Geneva, and the Axia Crossroad - but it also operates various facilities across the Network, ranging from small scout outposts staking a claim for the mankind in newly found star systems, to defence installations on and above almost every world, to a select few planets designated Naval Worlds, such as Marathon and Fulcrum, which produce the majority of CNC warships.

History

Upon arriving at their intended destination, humanity was thrust upon an inhospitable world. Alpha Centauri contained only a few exoplanets, gas giants, and dwarf worlds. Out of all of them, Centaurus was the greatest candidate - but it was by no means hospitable. Apart from an unusually strong gravity well, and an equally surprising magnetosphere, the world was barren and lifeless; the atmosphere was thick and unbreathable, the light from Proxima Centauri meant the brightest the surface became was equivalent to twilight on Earth, and a whole day lasted 22.4 Earth days due to the Planet's tiny orbital period. However, with no better candidate, and no resources or will to take another centuries-long journey to a different star system, the colony ships departed the Ark's superstructure, beginning construction on the first underground cities. This harsh environment, combined with near-constant shortages of all basic necessities, and tensions between the Old Earth Nations rose quickly. Old blood - even pre-Tarrasque conflicts - were brought to the forefront again, as the nations became increasingly independent from one another in their great tunnel cities. However, the discovery of the Arkon Vessel renewed both the wonder and the fear that had once arisen from their dire situation back on Earth. Many feared another Tarrasque invasion as if the common enemy of all Mankind had followed them to their new home, but, instead, the discovery was quite the contrary. The Arkons, whether intentionally or not, had left them a gift, and although the Nations themselves squabbled and debated over ownership of the site, the people reacted much differently - a spark of hope had been lit. At first, protests were small; the governments moved ever closer to all out war over the new discovery with every new sunrise on their new home, but soon citizens began to pour out onto the streets from their makeshift homes, crying out for unity for all Mankind. Through the vessel at Crash Site Apollyon, humanity had been given hope - and they refused to lose it again. Under immense pressure, the leaders of the surviving Nations of Earth were forced to react. After 2 months of careful negotiations, the foundations of the Commonwealth were set in place with the declaration of the Centauri Concordance. From there, the first international meetings were held within Illustria, the capital of the Alpina, with the newest findings uncovered from the site regularly being reviewed. Eventually, a vote was held, and in perhaps a first for mankind, the nations of Centaurus unanimously voted to establish the Commonwealth.

Demography and Population

As the furthest spread nation within Orion, the Commonwealth claims to have around 250 major settlements* throughout its owned star systems. On top of that, numerous flotillas, stations, and colonies fall under the Commonwealth's banner; in total, the population of the Commonwealth exceeds 10 billion people according to the 300 AT census. The majority of this population, however, is centred on the few naturally habitable/terraformed exoplanets throughout the Core sector, such as New Paris in the Geneva system. The most populous state in the federation is the Alpina Union, followed closely by the Nihon Sphere, the North American Coalition, and the Independent Planets of Lysandre. Officially, the Commonwealth's primary languages are French, Japanese, English, Arabic, Hindi, and Spanish, though a variety of languages are spoken through its territory; some from Old Earth, such as the few remnant communities of Mandarin and Cantonese speakers, and some developed quickly from old-world languages, such as the Alpinic creole of central European languages.

* Major Settlements is a nebulous term defined within the constitution of the Commonwealth and can include planets, planetoids (i.e. dwarf planets and moons), asteroid stations, artificial space stations, and even flotilla. The general rules when declaring a settlement as major are;

is the settlement able to support its population without outside support?
Does the settlement contain a significant population who are underrepresented in their current local government?
Does the state that the settlement belongs to require more representation due to an increase in population?

About one new major settlement is declared every two years.

Humanitatem Nostram Vivit (Humanity Lives on Through Us)

Maps

Proxima Centauri
Proxima Centauri was the first star system beyond Sol to be explored by humanity. Barren and mostly uninhabitable, many initially believed that Proxima would become the final resting place of humanity; With Earth almost certainly dead, and Proxima - the last hope for humanity - found desolate, a bright future for humanity looked ever more impossible.
However, no one could predict the discovery of Crash Site Apollyon, and the vast, civilisation changing advancements it's discovery would bring. Within 30 years of first landing, Centaurus had been transformed from a dead planet into a harsh but habitable tundra world, and with the discovery and activation of the Gates, Centaurus became the seed from which the entirety of the Commonwealth - and even it's rebellious children - would sprout forth from.
In the current day, Proxima is the Administrative capital of the Core sector of the Commonwealth - and, hence, serves as both the Judicial and parliamentary capital, and acts as neutral ground between all states within the Federation. Although holding only a single Gate connection between itself and the prosperous Geneva system beyond, it's importance to the growth of Humanity is a species cannot be understated.

Founding Date

157 AT (2206 AD)

Type

Political, Confederation

Capital

Centaurus

Alternative Names

The Commonwealth of Mankind/Humanity/Man

Demonym

Human, or Wealther/Welfy (slang)

Government System

Democracy, Representative

Power Structure

Confederation

Economic System

Mixed economy

Currency

Currency in a multiple star system spanning empire is a challenging endeavor, to say the least. Digital transfers are common at an interplanetary scale, leading to large digital economies within individual star systems, whilst a large amount of intersystem trading through the Gates is done through physical currency. The standard currency is the Round, sometimes called the Enn, especially in nations in the Nihon Sphere.

Controlled Territories

Neighboring Nations