Difference between revisions of "New Eden (cluster)"

Revision as of 12:39, 2 January 2012

New Eden is the name for the star cluster which is inhabited by the human race. The term is colloquial in nature, as the name is alternately applied to every star system in the galactic neighborhood, only those that have been explored and cataloged by humans, or solely those which are currently connected by working stargate networks. In common usage, the last definition is most frequently meant, and is the definition used in this article.

Structure

New Eden is a loosely-bound cluster of stars approximately 106 light years long, 90 light years wide, and 25 light years thick. The cluster contains 5433 star systems with stargate connections, though significantly more stars and stellar remnants with no gate connections exist within. Because stargates are almost exclusively deployed in star systems with orbital bodies, every star system within New Eden has at least one planet. It similarly contains many black holes, neutron stars, and white dwarfs, but these have also been mostly left unconnected to the stargate system. The cluster is relatively densely packed, with the average system having at least one neighbor less than a light year away from it. It is composed of stars of all stellar classifications and ages.

When looking at charted star maps, explorers often notice a filamentary structure to the cluster, especially at its edges. This leads some to believe that there are massive voids of stars within the cluster, but this is only partly true. Many of these gaps are filled with stars which have simply not been connected to the rest of the cluster through stargates. Such gaps are occasionally “filled in”, most recently when the Caldari State opened several connecting gates to Black Rise. Some voids are actually devoid of stars, such as Divinity's Edge, or are in the midst of heavy stellar formation, such as with the Vapor Sea.

History

Colonization and Collapse

Archeological evidence implies human beings first visited New Eden roughly 15000 years ago. The exact mechanism by which humans ventured into the cluster is unknown, though evidence points to the EVE Gate, located in the system from which the cluster takes its name, as the entryway.^[1] It appears these early settlers, over a period of roughly one-hundred years, colonized planets throughout the cluster, until a sudden disaster apparently struck them. The exact nature of this disaster is unknown, but it was catastrophic enough that within a few generations, the technology of the settlements had regressed significantly.

Dark Ages

Over the intervening centuries, the majority of the settlements died out. A few managed to survive and slowly began to regain their lost technology. The first of these are the people who would come to be known as the Jove. The Jove are notoriously secretive and have shared little of their history. They once inhabited the region known as Curse during their First Empire. Following the contraction of a malady known as the Jovian Disease, they abandoned the area in an attempt to escape the affliction. Roughly 3000 years ago, Miko Bour united them in a Second Empire.^[2]

At some other point, at least three other ancient civilizations rose to power. Today, they are known mainly by the artifacts and ruins they left behind, with little knowledge of what caused them to rise and eventually vanish from the cluster's landscape. They are known as the Sleepers, Talocan, and Yan Jung, though the recent discovery of wormhole space has provided tantalizing clues about the fates of the Sleepers and Talocan. A fourth ancient civilization, the Takmahl, arose later as an offshoot of Amarr exiles.^[3]

Rise of the Empires

Amarr Empire

The next civilization to emerge from the dark ages were the Amarr, who had conquered their home planet. Just over two-thousand years ago, they rediscovered space flight and began exploring their home system.^[4] Soon after, they discovered an intact stargate within their system and successfully reverse engineered the technology.^[1] In 21290 AD, they constructed the first modern stargate and connected it to the nearby system of Hedion.

Early on, the Amarr drove a sect of the Sani Sabik out from their space. These exiles traveled to the then-distant constellation of Arad and founded their own small empire. Unrestrained by Amarr religious restrictions, these people, who came to be known as the Takmahl, rose to great heights, only to apparently collapse under the weight of their religion.^[3]

The Amarr, meanwhile, slowly began exploring space, eventually coming into contact with several other surviving civilizations, beginning with the primitive Ealur in 21432 AD. They continued to expand over the centuries, encountering and conquering the Ni-Kunni a thousand years ago, then the Minmatar in 22480 AD.

In 23508, they finally discovered the warp drive, enabling them to expand at a much more rapid space. This enabled them to meet the Gallente, Caldari, and Jove within a short space of time in 23180 AD. Though the Amarr judged the Gallente too powerful to attempt to conquer, they believed the Jove to be vulnerable. They attacked the Jove in 23216 AD at the Battle of Vak'Atioth and were soundly defeated.^[5] Shortly after, the Minmatar rebelled and cast the Empire out. ^[6]

The Empire spent the next several decades recovering and have adopted a more peaceful stance toward the rest of the cluster.

Caldari State

The Caldari were first exposed to space by the arrival of the Gallente on their planet in 22517 AD. Shortly after, the Gallente sent the Cultural Deliverance Society to the Caldari in 22631 AD, with the aim of advancing the Caldari technologically. The Caldari exploited this opportunity to the fullest, expanding out into space under the aegis of the Gallente.

In collaboration with the Gallente, the Caldari developed the first modern warp drive in the cluster in 22821 AD. This enabled the Caldari to expand rapidly, outside of the view of the Gallente. The Caldari, finding the cultural imperialism of the Gallente oppressive, kept their colonies secret. Their eventual discovery in 23155 AD led to the outbreak of the Gallente-Caldari War.^[7]

The Caldari were forced to flee their homeworld and founded an independent State in their own section of space. The two sides fought to a protracted draw, with each side gaining temporary advantages, only to see them eventually vanish. The Caldari developed fighters, only for the Gallente to counter with drone technology. The Caldari then gained the capsule from the Jove, while both nations developed the Titan. The two sides fought the second-largest battle in history at the Battle of Iyen-Oursta, which inflicted heavy casualties to both.^[8]

After nearly a century of conflict, both sides had become exhausted by the simmering war. They eventually signed a peace treaty in 23248 AD.^[9]

Gallente Federation

The Gallente managed to discover the Caldari in 22463 AD, but were unable to contact them, spurring their development of space exploration. They finally managed to establish contact in 22517 AD. In 22588 AD, they developed and constructed their first stargate. Unlike the Amarr, they did not have an intact stargate to study, leading to a different design than the Amarr.^[1]

The Gallente eagerly expanded, driven by curiosity and a thirst for knowledge. In 22794 AD, they discovered the Intaki, and soon after discovered the Mannar in 22809 AD. Much like with the Caldari, the Gallente uplifted these civilizations with technology, bringing them into the space faring fold.

With help from the Caldari, the Gallente developed the first modern warp drive in 22821 AD, greatly increasing their ability to explore. With more and more systems being discovered and colonized, the Gallente founded the Federation along with the Caldari, Intaki, and Mannar in 23121 AD.

In 23155 AD, the Gallente discovered several secret Caldari colonies. Because the colonies had not been established according to Federation law, the Gallente attempted to penalize the Caldari. This eventually escalated, with the Caldari withdrawing from the Federation. A Caldari terrorist cell sabotaged a dome of the underwater Gallente city Nouvelle Rouvenor, killing half a million people.^[7]

A fascist government took power in the Federation following the attack, which began military operations against the Caldari. As the Caldari evacuated their homeworld, the Federation planned a large assault on the planet. In order to delay them, a detachment of the Caldari fleet attacked the Federation Navy, and engaged in hit-and-run strikes. When the fleet was too damaged to continue, they ran one last suicide mission, crashing their carrier into Gallente Prime, an act which killed two million people in the city of Hueromont.^[10]

The two sides fought to a protracted draw, with each side gaining temporary advantages, only to see them eventually vanish. The Caldari developed fighters, only for the Gallente to counter with drone technology. The Caldari then gained the capsule from the Jove, while both nations developed the Titan. The two sides fought the second-largest battle in history at the Battle of Iyen-Oursta, which inflicted heavy casualties to both.^[8]

After nearly a century of conflict, both sides had become exhausted by the simmering war. They eventually signed a peace treaty in 23248 AD.^[11]

Minmatar Republic

The Minmatar discovered space flight in 21413 AD, and spent the next several centuries exploring and colonizing. Unlike the other races, they did not construct their own stargates. Instead, they found several still-working gates and used them to expand across three systems. They also developed a unique form of faster-than-light travel that was only later copied by the other races, the acceleration gate.^[12]

The Minmatar spent the next several centuries living in peace and prosperity. Unlike the other nations, they felt no need to expand beyond their limited reach. This proved to be to their detriment, as the Amarr discovered them and invaded in 22355 AD. Technologically superior to the Minmatar, the Amarr were able to cripple the Minmatar defenses and enslaved millions in an event known as the Day of Darkness.^[13] Over the following centuries, the majority of the Minmatar would be enslaved by the Empire.

It wasn't until 23216 AD that the Minmatar were able to rebel against the Amarr and regain their freedom. This required the assistance of the Gallente and a fortuitous Amarr loss in the Battle of Vak'Atioth. However, the Minmatar were able to drive the Amarr out of their home space and take additional territory on top of that, giving them a strong foundation from which to rebuild their culture.^[14]

CONCORD and Cluster-Wide Peace

In 23230 AD, the five nations came together and founded CONCORD as an interstellar peace-keeping organization. CONCORD brokered peace treaties between the Gallente and Caldari, putting an end to their nearly-century long war, and the Amarr and Minmatar, freeing the Republic from the immediate fear of invasion and reenslavement.

Soon after, in 23236 AD (YC 0), CONCORD hosted the Yoiul Conference, which established EVE Standard Time.^[15] An unsteady peace embraced the cluster, only being briefly broken by the rise and destruction of Sansha's Nation.^[16] This peace continued for over a century.

The Empyrean Age

In YC105, a technological breakthrough married the capsule to cloning technology.^[17] This led to an explosion in capsuleers across New Eden, launching a new era into the cluster. Capsuleers quickly grew in power and influence and soon became celebrities and idols to the ordinary people of the cluster. Capsuleers brought untold violence, though the empires utilized them to their own ends as well.

The capsuleers began to expand and colonize the unclaimed regions of the cluster, building up their own small empires in the void. These empires rose and fell with alarming speed, with only a few managing to hold on to some form of stability and longevity.

The empires created their own violence in YC110, when the Caldari attacked the Federation and occupied Caldari Prime, and the Minmatar Elders assaulted the Amarr Empire in an attempt to free their remaining enslaved brethren.^[18] In response, the empires empowered capsuleers to join militias and fight on their behalf, under the CONCORD Emergency Militia War Powers Act.^[19][20]

Since then, the entire cluster has been engaged in war.

Life

New Eden is home to a great variety of life forms. Humans are the dominant species, being wider spread than nearly any other multicellular form of life. They have colonized a large number of planets, moons, asteroids, and erected artificial habitations in orbit and floating free in space. Humans have several different races, each with many different blood types. The Minmatar are the most numerous^[21], followed by near-equal numbers of Amarr and Gallente, with the Caldari somewhat behind. Trailing distantly are the Jove, whom have not been seen outside their sealed-off home space for several years, leading to rumors that they have gone or are on the verge of going extinct.

Non-human species are varied in both form and function. Several species, such as wheat, are present on several worlds and are believed to have common non-native origins, while others, such as the fedo^[22], are almost certainly entirely native to their home planets. Other notable life forms include the furrier^[23], slaver^[24], and hanging long-limb^[25]. Many of these species have spread from their native habitats thanks to human intervention. Similarly, humans have been responsible for mass extinctions of entire worlds through accident or intention, by the introduction of foreign pathogens or through terraforming efforts.

See Also

• Chronicle: The Battle of Vak'Atioth
• Chronicle: The Dark End of Space
• Chronicle: Day of Darkness
• Chronicle: Fedo
• Chronicle: Gallente-Caldari War: The Early Days
• Chronicle: Gallente-Caldari War: The Breakout
• Chronicle: Gallente-Caldari War: The War Drones On
• Chronicle: The Hanging Long-Limb
• Chronicle: Lady Phanca's Pet Furrier
• Chronicle: Sansha's Nation
• Chronicle: Slaver
• Chronicle: Time and the Astrologer

References