From the True Inheritors of the Earth
     [a commercial]

From Lee Tran (Acting Sub-Vice-President for Extra-system Affairs), Tyrell Corporation
     We are pleased to announce the merging of two great corporate states: The Tyrellian Corporate Co-Prosperity Sphere and Atlas-Ares-Zolax (AAZ). Details will be forthcoming, stock options to be announced in the near future. Thank you for your time.

From CorpCo Sol
     [a commercial]

From Mars
     Mars announces a treaty of mutual defense with Athens. Any acts of aggression against this small society of scholars will have consequences.
     Mars is appalled at the TIE's threats to civilization. We condemn terrorism in all its forms and consider it time to take action.

From the Gamemasters
     From this time forward, instead of funding many different "general research" projects, each nation should allocate a certain amount to general research in abstract. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and improvements will be awarded according to "national" preferences and any specific directions you wish (like "I'm working on gravitics"). A certain number of breakthroughs are assigned every turn.

From the Gamemasters
     There has been a change in Gamemaster responsibilities. Sean is now handling all research, including military research. Eric is now handling exploration, including both astronomical observation and surveys of new systems. It will greatly assist us if you divide the text portion of your turns into three sections, one for each gamemaster.

From Cimmer
     The High Emperor of Cimmer condemns the actions of Aurora and its LOC lackeys and hereby refuses to recognize this body.

From Cimmer
     The Clan Elder of Cimmer acknowledges the efforts of the League of Colonies to unify humanity and pledges her support in all endeavors.

From Cimmer
     The High Priest of Cimmer officially declares the planet's conversion to the Church of the One God and requests missionaries to aid our fallen brethren in finding the True path.

From Cimmer
     Lord Glyppus of Cimmer demands that all Cookies remove their grubby paws from Earth and return to their Lunar pit or suffer severe consequences.

From Cimmer
     Warlord Borgi-san demands a tribute of 1 ton of chocolate from each planet in the glorious Cimmerian Empire.

News on Amusement Parks
     A consortium of Lunar companies proposed a simulation amusement park to be known as "Dream Park". The park would be located on Kalahari, built with expertise from Tyrell (audio-animatronics) and Cimmer (guides and warriors).
     Construction continues on Kuzakland, though there have been numerous delays due to problems with labor and local contracts. Security on the site is extremely high. All of these costs are forcing the entire project to go 200% over its original budget. Protest marches occur at irregular intervals on many worlds.

New Embassies
     Embassies from both Kuisti and Aurora are placed on Mars.

Belters Express Interest in Kuistic Culture
     Trade indicators showed an enormous increase in purchase of Kuistic cultural materials (books, movies, television) by shareholders of Lockheed. A wave of attraction to Kuistic culture is growing among the Belters, and there is much curiosity about the Kuistic way of life. The Kuisti ambassador has received a number of unprecedented invitations to speak to local Belter audiences.

ThayGate Scandal
     Near the end of the year, in a series of exposes, Martian investigative reporters revealed a string of scandals which rapidly become known as "ThayGate".
     For nearly a decade now Admiral Thay Malloren, commander in chief of the Martian Planetary Fleet, has been siphoning off up to 10% of the defense budget into anonymous accounts in Tethys banks. The entire process was achieved by a vast web of bribes and favors which extended into the highest levels of the Martian government, the Arean Central Computing Service, the Tethys imperial family, 22 banks, and the interplanetary media. Money was also used to gain "friends" in governments and corporations across the system, and it is believed that Malloren has secretly been a major funder of a number of lobbying groups.
     Details are still being uncovered almost daily, including evidence that those who refused to cooperate in the massive scam were forced out of jobs or threatened; accusations of blackmail, kidnapping, murder, and assassination are also being made, including connections with the infamous Tethys Mafia.
     Reaction in the Martian government: Over 200 ranking officials in the Martian Republic have already resigned in disgrace, including three senators, twelve assemblymen, the Comptroller, the Secretary of Labor and Human Resources, a Supreme Court judge, a plethora of military officers, and the Prime Minister's chief of staff.
     The Prime Minister has appointed an emergency investigative committee to look into the numerous allegations.
     Reactions in other nations: Revelations of connections to Malloren by trusted officials sparked civil unrest in dozens of habitats, and led to the lynching of the entire managerial committee of Kismet.
     Reactions in the media: Over 50 media executives and reporters, including the editor of the Olympian Times, have resigned or been fired.
     The Tethys connection: The Emperor of Tethys has expelled all foreigners from his nation, though economic analysts now have a clue as to where he got the funding to more than triple the Tethys fleet in the last few years. There are also clues that the Tethys Empire has been channeling some of these funds to the True Inheritors of the Earth, though whether or not this was at Malloren's request is unknown.
     Reaction of the Martian people: By the tenth day of the situation, a crowd of 200,000 had gathered in the capital to demand Malloren's dismissal, with smaller demonstrations in many other cities. In reaction, crowds of Malloren supporters began gathering, including large numbers of retired and off-duty soldiers.
     So far police have managed to keep the two groups separated, though the crowds in the capital have swollen to over a half million.
     Reaction of Admiral Malloren: Throughout the entire affair, Admiral Malloren has refused all comment and remained holed up in his new offices in the Kremlin on Earth, surrounded by loyal troops who effectively control the entire Moscow Basin and surrounding uplands.

Massive Anniversary Celebration Held
     This year's Saturnus, the Auroran New Year holiday, normally a placid week-long affair, was transformed into a month-long, no-holds-barred, interplanetary party as the people of Aurora celebrated the new economic order, new ties with the other Auroran colonies, recent election results, the 600 (Auroran) year anniversary of the Auroran colonization, and the 400 year anniversary of the foundation of the Republica.
     It is estimated that the extended holiday cost the Auroran economy over 25 trillion dollars (1000 MU) in lost revenues, though the liquor industry reported astronomical monthly profits.

Lunar Ship Receives Prisoners
     A Lunar R&R ship arrived in Aurora. After much debate, a number of prison agencies agreed to allow 25 volunteer prisoners (all non-violent) to board.

Economic Integration
     Talks proceed smoothly regarding enhancements to the Auroran economic integration agreement. It is hoped that a single Auroran quadrasystem economic space will be created soon, perhaps by early next year.

Republican Military Growth
     Corva Venasis, Praetor Vigilae of the Republica Aurora, responded to criticism that he and the Auroran military are overreacting to the current security situation: "Everything you have seen and read represents legitimate security concerns in the new order. An external aggressor will not be fighting fairly, so we must prepare for the unexpected. While we do not want to see our resources go to wasteful avenues, we also do not want to be unprepared for an outside provocation. Our new production is for the physical and economic protection of the Citizens and Patrons of the Republic and their property, just as it has always been."
     Much of the anti-military criticism to which Venasis referred disappeared when a popular news commentator revealed that the video pictures used in last year's Martian "peace commercial" were not animated sequences as the Aurorans had immediately assumed, but actual historical footage! The Auroran populace was further shocked by a series of graphic documentaries on Sol history put together from archive data only recently retrieved from Sol.

Astronomical Array Inaugurated
     Opening ceremonies were held near the end of the year for the Auroran Cross-System Telescope Array, the largest and most powerful such system in the history of mankind. The array is also designed to work in conjunction with the even larger array under construction by Kuisti; working together via ftl linkages, the two will achieve a focal diameter of 19.4 light years, achieving resolution many orders of magnitude more accurate than any previous system.

Benares Disaster
     Ship loads of supplies and disaster crews were immediately dispatched to Imbri from Aurora and Marsellium in man's first interstellar disaster relief effort. Thousands of doctors, engineers, and astronauts were mobilized and sent to Benares. Over 50 MU in relief funds are donated to the Imbrians.

     A Lunar R&R ship arrived in Tyrell and was flooded by requests from over 600,000 prisoners who wished to leave. Representatives of Tyrell Corporation who spoke with the visiting Cookies asked them to send as many ships as they could. The ship eventually left with 122 Tyrellians in cryogenic sleep.

Colony on Bella Noche
     Kuisti placed 500 colonists on Bella Noche, currently living in environment domes. These colonists are to pave the way for a major effort to repopulate the Bella Noche system.

Exploration of Delta Pavonis
     A Kuistic cruiser, joined by a Martian destroyer, journeyed to Delta Pavonis, the two ships entering the system from opposite directions. Communications were lost simultaneously with both ships before they penetrated the outer system. Telemetry reported no irregularities up until the moment communications were cut.

Lunar R&R Ship
     A Lunar R&R ship arrived in system. As Kuisti has no prisons, there were no prisoners for pick up. A handful of curious individuals, however, took up the offer to emigrate to Luna and were accepted aboard.

Kuistic Programming Augmented
     The People of the One God greatly increased the frequency and variety of their interstellar programming, adding interactive multimedia programs for those who wish to learn more about the Word of the One God.

AAZ Attempts Consolidation With Cimmer
     AAZ broadcast a series of commercials to Cimmer, attempting to convince the Cimmerians to merge their government with AAZ, to the benefit of all parties. They promise better living conditions and a "new and more responsive leadership". Most Cimmerians found the commercials tiresome, and more than a few were offended or annoyed.

Tyrellian Invasion
     A series of confused reports indicate that a Tyrellian fleet attacked AAZ by surprise in the asteroid belt which AAZ was colonizing. All communications were lost within minutes of the attack, but a very panicked distress call was sent out as follows:
     "...What's going on?! Who's fighting...oh my god...hundreds of ships everywhere...Is anyone out there?! This is AAZ in the Cimmer system! Tyrellian ships are attacking! We need help! Mayday! May...(static)."
     All requests for information from Cimmer about the attack have been ignored. They have announced that they are looking into it and will release information at some later date.

     Reports indicate that strife has settled down on Kalahari, with the Eco Resource Confederation taking a leading role in establishing the new post-Corporate order. Except for difficulties in demobilizing over a million troops who never actually fought, life seems to have returned to normal, though the Outland and Corporate societies are now more fully integrated. There is some confusion about Kalahari's name, and various factions have put forward claims to name the planet El Estero, Serengeti, Shakari, Calliopolis, Calamari, Van Diemen's Planet, Planet Ten, Iotia, or Antonio's Lumber World.

     Led by Kuisti and Lockheed, the Interstellar Science Forum was founded. Aurora, Mars, many smaller nations in Sol and Aurora, and a wide variety of independent research institutes were also founding members. The Forum is devoted to the gathering, indexing and dissemination of research projects of all member organizations.
     The first chairman, Bortas Kwin of the Kuisti Ministry of Science, announced three symposia to be held in 2859, to discuss the fields of ftl science and engineering, pre-Collapse history of interstellar colonization, and recursive semi-exposed sub-dimensional mathematics.