the world of Urth

I am offering this up to help relieve some writer's block. I'm posing a question at the end of this post, so feel free to give an answer or some feedback.

In an effort to give a greater sense of belonging to characters or stories, I've taken an example from noted fantasy writers by constructing my own world, to flesh it out and to develop. At first I was going to take what I already know and expand on it, but I've had this world in my mind for years, so I reasoned I might as well blow the dust off of it and see how far I get.

The premise of Urth is that it takes place on our planet, in our future. This isn't to say that it is a science fiction / high technology themed world, oh no. We've fallen back; I can't say whether or not it is within the typical medieval age or something a bit advanced, like steam punk... there is no reason why both cannot exist in this world, as there is plenty of room.

Here's the thing. By 2025, there will be a world changing event. Massive solar flare knocking out our electronics is great, so is an eruption of the Yellowstone supervolcano. I'll probably do both, spread it over a few decades, but the thing is that I need something that causes those events. Rogue planet perhaps? Thing of it is, it has to be realistic, something that sounds feasible. Here is what I am working with, a time line of sorts.

Near the end of WWII, back when the United States and the USSR were allies, they uncovered some top secret information from the Nazi government, something that had world altering implications. It turns out that the Nazis were trying to bring the world under one government so that it could be better prepared for what was to come... a united front is a strong front; all these individual countries would generate numerous directions and arguments, ensuring nothing would be accomplished. To reach these goals, they needed a driving force,something that the people could stand behind. The Nazis knew that they had to be the bad guys, because it was inconceivable that a nation with the world's best interests would try to gain control. They knew that the nations of the world would resist... but the weaker nations would fall and be absorbed, the stronger would become stronger and prove capable of surviving.

Sadly, due to a miscalculation, there came about two strong nations, and not one that was first thought. The Nazis had believed and hoped that the USSR would have been the nation to ally with in global unification; that is why attacks on the Eastern Front were so sporadic, it allowed the USSR a chance to improve and prove themselves. However, a failed attempt to get Mexico to attack the United States, along with the fiasco of Pearl Harbor (carriers were not there), brought the US to the forefront.

Anyway, when Berlin fell, both forces discovered this information and proceeded to capture and safeguard Nazi scientists in an effort to independently confirm what had the Nazis concerned. During the 1950s, the world's two super powers, the United States and the Soviet Union, rediscovered the secret as something so drastic that its knowledge alone would cause widespread panic and nation-wide riots. They both agreed to keep this information secret.

Both nations began to take altering steps to advance the exploration of space. While the world was left watching this Space Race, believing it to be a case of simple rivalry, it was in fact the cooperation of the two governments. It was believed that each nation could expand on what the previous had accomplished, or be allowed to test differing systems simultaneously. Each tested new systems and explored the planet near ours in what they feared would be a mass exodus should the Earth become inhabitable with what was discovered years earlier.

Satellites were placed in orbit, probes sent to the inner planets of our solar system due to their proximity, and manned missions to the moon tested feasibility of colonization.

When testing was completed, the two nations began a massive undertaking to secretly fund this colonization, and started a series of small scale wars between each other through proxy governments. This allowed for the US and the USSR to research and fund current and new technologies, to establish budgets which would be used to fund the construction of large amounts of rockets and related craft, as well as the units needed for habitation, without suspicions being raised.

With the Soviet's proven track record with extremely large scale rocket-craft, the two nations agreed that Mars would be initially colonized by them, in the hopes that by time the United States could join them, a colony would already be successfully established. Likewise, the United States lay claim to the moon, believing that their more technology based cautionary tactics would be advantageous in mining and refining the resources discovered on the lunar surface.

For decades, these two nations fought on a global scale in order to produce the craft needed, the world none the wiser. While the United States saw itself being held back by a population growing tired and weary of endless conflict, the Soviet Union nearly destroyed itself, plunging its country into debt and bankruptcy in order to succeed; even though the US was able to place a small colony on the moon, it was unable to generate the resources required by the USSR to advance their mutual goals.

Jump ahead to the 1980s. The United States hasn't been to the moon in years, the Soviet Union in a financial decline. To the surprise of the world, US President Ronald Reagan pushed for a new Space Race, this time pumping trillions of dollars into laser and space based weapons technology in order to protect the US from the Soviet threat. The space shuttle begins to ferry goods and supplies to the lunar colony at an alarming rate. Several other smaller nations merge their space programs to create a group of orbiting space stations; though the US and USSR share some of the data collected as those nations make their own discoveries, the full extent is kept in the dark.

At the turn of the century, President George W Bush attempts to bring public awareness to the US' lunar colony, by proposing a colony be established within “16 years time”... an odd time frame,with it being so exacting. The public backing never surfaces. At the turn of the century, President Obama echoed this sentiment to return to the moon, and again nothing occurred. The space shuttle program ended,with the United States buying cargo space on Soviet rockets...

...

So what was the event that caused everything? What was it that made the Germans believe they needed a united front? Did they know that something was going to happen to the world, that they needed a strong and united people to see things through? It has to be a galactic event, something that could have been discovered / rediscovered by scientists and astronomers, something that could have been discovered roughly 100 years earlier, allowing for enough time to plan... something small enough to keep covered up, but large enough to cause greater destruction than first envisioned.

Ahh, I like the idea of a rogue planet... could tie in with the whole Nibiru crowd. Perhaps the Nazis discovered a large cluster of comets and believed that there would have been a series of major impacts... this would have been detected by the super-powers as well, with that level of technology. It wouldn't have been until the 80s when space telescopes were advanced enough to show that the cloud of comets were actually shepard comets,comets that were essentially leading something bigger (like a rogue planet). This would explain the second great push by Reagan to develop a shield to protect the world.

The comets are deflected by Jupiter's gravitational field, but the rogue planet is able to maintain it's own course. The trajectory carries it to the sun, impacting it, causing a massive coronal ejection, blanketing the Earth with solar radiation, frying all electronic systems. A couple decades later, the comets which had altered course were now heading towards Earth. Their impact causes several earth changing events: seismic tremors and tidal flooding the least of them... either the Pacific Rim ignites (ocean impacts) or Yellowstone erupts (land impact).

...

GODS

The colony on the moon eventually become caretakers of the earth, nurturing life, trying to save the world. Because of the weaker gravity, these moon beings couldn't stay on Earth long... the survivors saw them as gods, bringing civilization and agriculture and wisdom to the world, bringing light to the dark ages.

The colony on Mars grew angry. Life on Mars was harsh, especially since the technology promised never came about. Their technology, though adequate, just wasn't enough, and they dreamed to return to the world of their dreams. They looked to the Earth, and dreamed of returning, of claiming it for their own. These would become the dark gods, gods of death and war.

You seriously need to read 'Empire of the East' by Fred Saberhagen.... just enough differences, and I know you haven't read it so I know yours is original.... BUT the similarities.... And then the series including 'Book of Swords' and "Book of Lost Swords'... which takes place in the same timeline but many thousands of years later, and some people became gods through the technology of Ardneh... dammit I need to read the whole thing again too!

Anyway, world altering event? Nuclear bombs. Ardneh, a super semi-sentient defense computer used some damn algorithm that we would call 'magic' and altered the bombs into balls of energy. The release of energy basically EMP'd everything and threw us into the dark ages. The balls of energy roamed the world, became sentient, and realized they still had power, but instead of being objects of destruction, they wanted to rule humans, and long story short, they became 'demons'. You know, balls of energy with evil intent? Yeah, like that. Fucking awesome books.

So then there's the 50,000 years later, with tribes of people. Swords, magic, bows, slings, and the occasional fire extinguisher or shotgun. Yeah, like that. Wow, I gotta read those again!

Okay, here it is, the first part to my world creation... please be kind!

With the obsession with ancient and religious artifacts, Nazi Germany funded and directed dozens, if not hundreds, of archaeological digs throughout the world. Though many of these missions ended in failure, some did not. One such successful mission took place between December 1938 and April 1939; initially a scientific study to see if a permanent whaling station could be established in Antarctica’s Queen Maud Land region, it instead became the staging area in which German scholars discovered the remnants of an ancient and previously unknown society, believed to be older than that of the Egyptians and Sumerians.

Little is known about what was all discovered or learned during those months, but what is known is that Germany went from a nation under the yolk of the League of Nations to a world dominating powerhouse, as well as jumpstarting a technology race that put itself decades ahead of every other nation in the world. What was it that compelled the Germans to such actions? The answer to that wouldn’t be known until years later, when Allied forces marched into and took control of Berlin…

From reviewing this brief timeline, it becomes clear that what the Allied forces had uncovered involved something otherworldly. Nazi Germany was first to act on what was discovered by developing larger and larger rockets, capable of sending satellites into space. With the end of World War Two, the two remaining superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, had the task of confirming whatever was discovered; they also had to rebuild their economies before they could pursue the technology required. Each nation involved with this took about ten years, from first beginning the research, to construct and successfully launch a rocket large enough to carry cargo into space, with an estimated 15 years before manned missions were possible. Roughly ten years after manned missions, space stations are created.

All told, it took the US and the USSR 25 years to build upon the successes of Nazi Germany, successes that were brought upon by a discovery within the Antarctic continent.

The following timeline shows what is both publicly known, and what isn’t. Classified information, obtained through the likes of WikiLeaks and Anonymous, will appear with an asterisk on each side of the comment.

1933 – German scientist Wernher von Braun begins to test the A1 rocket.

1938 – Germany establishes a small whaling base on Queen Maud Land in Antarctica, naming the region New Swabia.

1939 – A series of aerial reconnaissance missions in February preceded the establishment of a long-term German research installation. In April, the last cargo ship departed, leaving a fully organized team behind. In September, German forces marched on Poland, initiating World War Two. In October, the Germans began flight tests of the A5 rocket in order to test advanced guidance control systems.

*1939* - Reconnaissance photos revealed several warm spring tunnel entrances. Delving into these systems in the hopes of finding a source of continued heat and a fresh water supply, German explorers can upon an entire thermal heated lake beneath the icy surface. Surrounding this lake were several ancient structures, half buried in the ground below (March). Upon notification, Berlin sent a convoy of research equipment, in addition to items that were believed to be needed for a prolonged stay (April). Excavations began (May), with a grand hall uncovered (July). This hall, upon further exploration, turned out to be a repository, a collection of manuscripts (July). One book, discovered in a central location within an adjacent room, was written in several languages, including forms of ancient Egyptian, Sanskrit, Harappa, and Elamite (August). Translation of the book began (September), and was not completed until May of 1940.

1940 – In July, German scientists start crafting designs for the A9 rocket, a piloted rocket to have a maximum ceiling of 245 miles.

1942 – In March, the Germans successfully launched the A4, which would later become known as the V2, the first rocket to reach the fringes of space; development of the A5 continues.

1944 – Germany develops the A9 / A10 rockets, otherwise known as “Amerika Rakete”. This was a two stage rocket system that, when launched, would have reportedly reached the American mainland. In December, the Germans begin to develop the A11, a three stage rocker designed to reach low Earth orbit.

*1944* - In the fall of 1944, and by utilizing an unmanned developmental A9, Germany places a small satellite into orbit. Named Überwachungsbeauftragte, it is unclear as to what its mission could have been, although judging by its name (translated as Watchdog), it is believed that this satellite acted as a sort of early space telescope, or perhaps a spy satellite. This is soon followed by a second satellite launch, code named Augen Himmels.

1945 – In May, German forces surrender, ending the European conflict of World War Two. In August, Operation Paperclip, where hundreds of Nazi scientists were taken by the Soviet Union and the United States, officially begins. Also in August, German submarine U-977 arrives in an Argentinean port, its crew silent as to where they have been or what their mission was.

*1945* - Official court documents reveal that many German scientists and high ranking officials have eluded capture. It is believed that many such personnel were transported to Antarctica. Further records indicate that Germany had been sending massive amounts of material and raw goods to New Swabia, including rocket fuel.

*1946* - In the early spring, New Swabia begins preparation to construct an orbital space station, to which subsequent launches to the moon may be made.

1946 – August. Operation Highjump, a massive military action set within the Antarctic continent, begins.

*1947* – During the late summer / early fall, American forces in Antarctica stop the German launch of the A12, a four stage rocket capable of ferrying ten tons. During the battle, the A12 was destroyed.

1947 – Operation Highjump ends in December.

*1947* – While performing intelligence gathering at the New Swabia base, it was discovered that a third satellite, Lichttrager, had been launched earlier that year, and was designed to act as a test platform for a heliobeam, as originally designed by Hermann Oberth.

1954 – Wernher von Braun, a German scientist captured by the Americans during Operation Paperclip, proposes an orbital space station; it is denied. The US Air Force officially discover two orbiting artificial satellites *(these satellites are believed to be those launched by the Germans in 1944)*

1955 – Work on an American space plane initiated.

1957 – Russians successfully place Sputnik into orbit around the world. Reports circulate that a second satellite mirrors Sputnik’s orbit. *(This very well could be one of the original satellites launched by Germany in 1944, most likely Watchdog, or it could mean that there were other, previously unknown, launches.)*

1958 – The United States establishes NASA in July.

1960 – In February, the US Navy discovers and tracks an unknown satellite within an eccentric and decaying orbit. *(Reports indicate that this satellite was in fact Augen Himmels. It is thought that the Überwachungsbeauftragte satellite’s orbit decayed, causing it to crash on the Akwanga Plateau in Nigeria on July 2, 1959.)*

1961 – In April, the Russians successfully launch a man into orbit. In May, the Americans. Then President John Kennedy proposes a manned mission to the moon. In October, the US launches its first Saturn class rocket.

1962 – The USSR begins to send probes to Mars. In the summer, the USAF test fires and detonates a nuclear warhead in space.

*1962* – The USAF detonation of a nuclear device was, in fact, the ordered destruction of the Nazi orbital space weapon, code name Lichttrager. Military officials believed (and rightly so) that this station was larger than first thought, and that it was nuclear powered, the uranium for such a device having been transported to New Swabia in 1945 onboard the submarine U-234; should the craft fall back into Earth’s atmosphere, it was unknown what would happen with the wide-spread of radiation at such an altitude. A nuclear warhead equipped rocket was fired, for officials could not be certain that a direct hit would be successful; as such, a “near hit” was believed to be more effective.

1964 – NASA ends its manned Mars projects with the dissolution of the Nova class rocket. *(It is here that the United States and the USSR reach an agreement: the US shall begin to establish a lunar colony, while the Soviets reach for Mars.)*

1969 – After several years in development, the US lands a man on the moon. *(Subsequent visits ferry parts and supplies to create a top secret lunar base, capable of harvesting materials from the moon)*

1971 – The USSR establishes its first space station the Salyut 1. Russian probes orbit and land on Mars. *(An automated service station starts to take form on the Martian surface via robotic drones )*

1973 – Skylab, America’s first orbital space station, is launched in May. *(Skylab acts as a prep zone for workers going to the moon, so that they can get used to working in low gravity conditions)*

1981 – America’s first reusable spacecraft, the space shuttle Columbia, launches in April. *(Further launches send additional supplies and personnel to work on the lunar base)*

1983 – President Reagan proposes the strategic Defense Initiative, better known as Star Wars, a program to develop and implement a series of space based weapons to neutralize missiles or rockets launched from either the world’s surface or from orbit, utilizing devices such as lasers, rail cannons, kinetic weapons, and so on. *(Though sold to the public as a defensive shield, the SDI program was a weapon that was to be used in the event of a massive meteor shower or asteroid impact, similar in scope to the Nazi heliobeam (a gigantic mirror focusing the sun’s energy to a fine point to blast or burn anything it is aimed at.)*

1986 – The USSR establishes a second orbital space station, Mir.

1987 – The Soviet Union launches the Energia class rocket for the first time in May. This rocket is capable of lifting over 100 tons of cargo into orbit.

*1987* – There were numerous Energia launches in the months and years to follow, each sending massive amounts of material to Mars. By this time, the preliminary Martian base has been constructed, and pre-built modular units are being launched, to arrive and be of use before the first human settlers reach the surface.

1988 – The Soviet space shuttle Buran launches in November. *(Buran begins to transport personnel to the Mir, with pervious personnel having adjusted themselves to the rigors of space onboard the Mir, being sent to Mars via one way craft launched from orbit.)*

1998 – Work on the International Space Station begins. *(Several rising nations discovered that which the US and the USSR were keeping secret from other nations and the world in general. These nations, along with the US and the USSR (in order to maintain secrecy), pooled their resources to develop a space station that would act as a cargo vessel to be ferried to the moon.)*

…

From these accounts, it can be ascertained that what the Germans uncovered, and what the US and the USSR confirmed and prepared for, was something of celestial origin, something that threatened the world. Germany, under the guise of global domination, utilized its gained resources to construct a device to blast away at whatever was approaching, thus saving the world. The two super-powers united to share technology, to first establish save havens off world, and then to develop weapons that would neutralize any approaching treat. And from every indication, this threat was large enough that the nations involved all prepared for global destruction.

But why all the secrecy? Why the large drive which financially ruined one nation while the public questioned the expenses of another?

Nazi Germany believed that by creating a united people, it could better serve and protect. With multiple nations, as witnessed by any United Nations meeting, there are too many fronts to cover, too many special needs to attend. Germany believed that by eliminating opposing nations, with only having one voice, it would be in a better position. This very well may have been true, except the plan failed when it was decided to invade Russia without enough material on hand, along with the Japanese failed attack on Pearl Harbor (failed in that none of the United State’s aircraft carriers were present). Caught between two fronts, Germany collapsed upon itself.

Regarding the secrecy, one can only guess. Of all the scenarios, the most likely is that, should the truth be known, it would cause global panic. Nations would go to war with one another, to conquer their enemies before the end. World-wide panic would feed riots on a scale never seen. Civil war, civil strife.

Protecting the people involves something physical, whether that be in technological weaponry or defenses, or in infrastructure. To protect the masses from the truth, you would first have to feed them lies, keep them distracted. Creating a common enemy to develop a sense of national pride, stage wars to give focus to both distract and to develop new technology. War, believe it or not, as a great way to generate funds, funds that can, in turn, be used to develop better technology.

Look at Nazi Germany, at the very brink of ruin, with a skyrocketing inflation and an infrastructure that was failing. What happened, what brought Germany from collapse to the most scientific and technologically advanced nation in the world, all within a few years? A common enemy (the Jew), and economic stabilizer (war), and an improving national identity. In turn, look at the two super powers. At one time allies, they turned against each other (common enemy), fought proxy war after proxy war (Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan), which in turn fed the development of technological marvels.

From the Sun Gun created by the Germans to the Star Wars program initiated by the US and followed up upon by the Soviet Union, defenses were put in place to protect the world. As World War Two was approaching an end, Germany tried to establish itself on the moon, as a last refuge to save humanity should the defense fail. Likewise, The US and the USSR pushed to the colonization of the Moon and Mars, with the subsequent creation of defensive weapons to safeguard against a threat from space.

But what was it? And how could these two governments keep such a secret for so long? The answers are quite shocking. One, the governments didn’t keep it a secret. Fact is, they allowed people to freely discuss it and to view it; however, government involvement twisted the truth, made the people look question and doubt one another, to make it seem as if they were perhaps mentally unstable. The government hid the truth by placing it out in plain sight, and by making the people who saw the truth as being insane.

The second (or rather, the first) question, what was the secret, was by far more dangerous than what the Nazis originally thought, was far larger than what the Soviet Union and United States had been preparing for. Contained within the text that the Germans first translated was a reference to a harbinger of destruction, one that rained fiery death upon the world and coated it in blackness; this event occurred every 3000 years, and was responsible for many of the world’s myths and legends regarding the end of an age or the end of civilization.

The Germans believed that the return would occur near the turn of the century, and went forth to detect this Harbinger. After locating the object, and believing it to be a great comet, they began to prepare against it, believing that their solar weapon would be enough to either melt the comet, or to divert it.

With further technology, the super-powers not only confirmed the German findings, but also improved upon them. Deep space observations noted that the object was not a comet, but rather what appeared to be a large asteroid surrounded by a cloud of meteoric particles and fragments. It was hoped that the SDI program would be enough to destroy any incoming meteor, blasting them into fragments that could burn up harmlessly within Earth’s atmosphere, and that space based nuclear devices would render the asteroid safe.

There was no asteroid or repeating cataclysmic meteor shower returning, there was nothing that small defensive satellites could protect against. What was coming was far greater than what they had imagined, and it was only with the placement of the Hubble Telescope in 1990 did they truly understand the scope of things, even though legends and myths told of its coming.

Nibiru was returning, and though further calculations revealed that it would not come near to the Earth, its gravitational fields would wreck havoc, not to mention the stream of meteors that trailed behind it.