Factbook of the Federation of United Earthly Nations

[United Earthly Nations]

Above: A Composite Satellite Image of the Federation.
Basic Information
Country Name
conventional long form Federation of United Earthly Nations
conventional short form Earth
abbreviation FUEN
Capital City
name Unity
geographic co-ordinates 29°32′S 31°13′E
time zone EAT (GMT+3)
World Assembly
status Member
category New York Times Democracy
economy Very Strong
civil rights Excellent
political freedoms Excellent
Other Basic Information
motto "Nations of the Earth, Unite!"
national anthem The World Anthem
official languages
1. Arabic
2. English
3. French
4. Hindi
5. Japanese
6. Mandarin
7. Portuguese
8. Russian
9. Spanish
10. Swahili
drives on the Left
National Symbols
national animal Blue Whale
national bird Albatross
national fish Coelacanth
national flower King Protea
national tree Olive Tree
coat of arms

[United Earthly Nations]

The Planet Earth has a long, rich and well known history, and up to the year 12010 HE (2010 CE/AD) that history should need no rehashing. It was in that year that the first steps toward global unification were taken when the Terran League General Assembly (TLGA) passed the "Parliamentary Resolution" on November the 20^th. Said resolution established the Terran League Parliamentary Assembly (TLPA), a legislature whose members were directly elected by all the citizens of the world. This, of course, gave the Terran League legitimacy as a de facto World Government: the first in the planet's history.

At first, the TLPA trod lightly, to avoid upsetting the apple-cart of national sovereignty. However, the Earthly Federalist Movement was gaining increasing support, and so on June the 28^th 12016 HE the TLPA created a Constitutional Committee tasked with drawing up a proposal for a global constitution. The Constitutional Committee deliberated for seven months; also opening itself to global public input; until it eventually drew up the planet's first constitution. On February the 8^th 12017 HE the new constitution was put up for a global referendum and passed by a margin of 63% to 37%: far exceeding the necessary 51% to 49% margin required to pass. The constitution took effect on November the 5^th that same year, thus marking the beginning of the Federation of United Earthly Nations (the name that had proven most popular in the second part of the referendum).

Two nations, however, immediately withdrew from the Terran League before the constitution took effect; those two being the United States of America and the People's Democratic Republic of Korea: however, they were soon brought back into the fold by a combination of domestic public resentment, total economic sanctions, and in the case of North Korea, military intervention.

Technological Advancement
On January the 27^th 12019 HE, an event occurred that would have an enormous effect on Earth's course in history. On that day an extra-terrestrial civilisation, called the Polepkwa (from Zeta Reticuli), sent a delegation to Unity, the then new capital of Earth. The Polepkwa, as it turned out, had been observing Earth for centuries; and, with the creation of a World Government and subsequent developments, they felt that Earth had reached a sufficient level for diplomatic relations to be established. After the Polepkwa established their embassy in Unity, a scientific and technological exchange agreement was signed that allowed for massive increases in Earth's levels of scientific and technological development, until by 12022 HE Humanity and the Polepkwa were at the same level of technological development. One of the primary manifestations of this was that Humanity gained access to faster-than-light space travel technology.

The Octopoids
On December the 27^th, 12026 HE, the government of Earth passed a law allowing for further research into genetic engineering and removing many of the barriers previously in place. Soon, researchers had created a new sapient species of octopus. As a result of their creation, a new constitutional amendment was passed changing the words "Human rights" with "Sapient rights", and defining "people" as "any sapient being": thus granting the Octopoids, as the new species was called, equality with humans. The reasons for the creation of the Octopoids were varied, but the researcher's primary aim was to allow for new perspectives in scientific research: the Octopoids had brains that were quite different from Human ones, and the researchers felt that this would allow for further advancement should any of them be interested in science. Today, the Octopoids are fully integrated into Earthly society (speaking Human languages), and the researcher's predictions have been proven: the Octopoids unique non-human perspectives have allowed for much advancement.

In addition to the Octopoids, a massive programme of Human enhancement was undertaken: and today's Humans and Octopoids are unrecognisable from their ancestors in terms of ability thanks to their high levels of genetic and cybernetic improvement.

Today, Earth is an advanced planet, and it is in the process of colonising its moon and multiple other planets in its planetary system. There are also plans currently in place to set up colonies in other star's planetary systems.

[United Earthly Nations]

The Federation of United Earthly Nations is a federal constitutional democracy, with a clear separation of powers between the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government. There are four levels of government: World, National, Provincial (or whatever the nation in question calls its administrative subdivisions) and Local.

Federal or National?
When the World Government was created, it didn't replace national government's, it merely took away their sovereignty and established a forth level of government. As a result, many of the nations of 21^st century earth still exist, as subdivisions of the World Government. The World Government is somewhat decentralised (although it does still have great power), and many internal issues still fall within each nations prerogative: it would be a mistake therefore to regard the World Government as unitary, it is a Federation after all.

The Legislative Branch
The legislative branch of the Federation is headed by the Federal Legislature; a bicameral body with the lower house being the Parliamentary Assembly, and the upper house being the General Assembly. The Parliamentary Assembly's members (called Members of Parliament) are elected directly by the people of Earth through a system of mixed-member proportional representation: there are 600 Members of Parliament. General Elections are held every five years, and members may serve a maximum of two five-year terms. The General Assembly's members (called Permanent Envoys), on the other hand, are appointed by their respective National Governments: one per nation. The current Speaker of the Parliamentary Assembly is Natasha Mbeki and the current Chair of the General Assembly is Wen Zedong.

The Executive Branch
The executive branch of the Federation is headed by the Secretary General (as head of state) and the World President (as head of government). The Secretary General is appointed by the General Assembly and may serve indefinitely. The World President on the other hand is directly elected by the global population, and may serve a maximum of two five-year terms. Cabinet is appointed by the World President. As of the present, the executive branch of Earth is as follows:

The 'Heads'
Secretary General Yu Shintao
Deputy Secretary General Vallalabhai Sharma
World President Christina J. Watridge
Deputy World President Fundiswa Mhlanga

General Ministerial Portfolios
Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Andrea J. Smith
Minister of Arts and Culture Naledi Dlamini
Minister of Communications Jamal S. Malik
Minister of Correctional Services Qin Shi
Minister of Defence Ehezkel Cohen
Minister of Education Fatima S. Hussein
Minister of Environmental Affairs Linda C. O'Connor
Minister of Extra-Terrestrial Affairs Petrus van der Merwe
Minister of Finance Naoto Hirobumi
Minister of Health Mwai D. Annan
Minister of Home Affairs Ivanna S. Khrushev
Minister of Intelligence Services Vladimir A. Trotsky
Minister of Justice Sandile M. Zuma
Minister of Labour Affairs Ebrahim Patel
Minister of Public Enterprises Catherine S. Lindsay
Minister of Public Service and Administration Mustafa Pasha
Minister of Public Works Rajiv L. Singh
Minister of Safety and Security Itumeleng Motlanthe
Minister of Science and Technology Nikolai Gurevich
Minister of Social Development Jean-Jacque Chiraque
Minister of Sports and Recreation Jawaharlal M. Pillay
Minister of Tourism Sarah Finkelstein
Minister of Trade and Industry Felipe Gomez
Minister of Transport Ajesh Maharaj

Co-ordinatory Ministerial Portfolios
International Planning Commissioner Indira Joshi

The Judicial Branch
The highest court on Earth is the Constitutional Court, which as per its name deals primarily with constitutional matters. The Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court is appointed by the World President and serves a life term to avoid political interference: the current Chief Justice is Francis Courtenay. Below the Constitutional Court is the International Supreme Court of Appeal, the International Criminal Court and the various national court systems within the Federation.

[United Earthly Nations]

The Planetary Defence Force
The Planetary Defence Force (PDF) is the military of the Federation of United Earthly Nations. Defence Headquarters (DHQ) in Unity is the headquarters of the Department of Defence (DOD), and as such PDF Supreme Command (PDF-SC) is also headquartered there. The PDF's primary responsibilities are, according to the constitution, internal security, defence against hostile extra-terrestrial civilisations and defence against natural threats such as asteroids and comets. The PDF is divided into 4 branches, the Space Force, Air Force, Navy and Army.

the space force
The Space Force is responsible for defending the solar system from extra-terrestrial forces in space. It is in possession of faster-than-light spacecraft; allowing for an effective defensive network in the void of outer space. The Space Force is also responsible for deflecting asteroids or comets that would otherwise have hit inhabited worlds, and for transporting Air Force, Navy and Army forces between worlds. Its primary base is SFB Eagle near the Sea of Tranquility on Earth's Moon.

the air force
The Air Force is responsible for defence within the atmosphere of any inhabited planet or atmosphere possessing moon. It is also used for pre-emptive strikes on other planets; in which case its aircraft are transported to the alien world in question on Space Force carriers. Its primary base is AFB Mikoyan in Siberia.

the navy
The Navy is responsible for defence on the high seas. It is also used for pre-emptive strikes on other planets; in which case its ships are transported to the alien world in question on Space Force carriers. Its primary base is NB Simon's Town in South Africa.

the army
The Army is responsible for defence on land. It is equipped with armour that allows it to operate fully on worlds that either have no atmosphere, or that have atmosphere's that don't support Earth life. It is also used for pre-emptive strikes on other planets; in which case its troops, vehicles and artillery are transported to the alien world in question by Space Force carriers. Its primary base is AB Sydney in Australia.

Planetary Defence Alert Levels
DHQ in Unity issues fortnightly Planetary Defence Alert (PDA) Level statements to inform the people and military of the Federation of the current level of threat faced by the Federation from natural events and/or extra-terrestrial forces. They are decided on by PDF-SC in consultation with the Secretary General in his role as Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. The Federation's PDA Levels are:

PDA6 -- Blissfully Peaceful
PDA5 -- Peaceful
PDA4 -- Alert
PDA3 -- High Alert
PDA2 -- War/Impact Imminent
PDA1 -- War/Impact
PDA0 -- Total War

Note: a state of "Total War" implies that the Secretary General has authorised the use of the Federations planet-destroyers. It is the only PDA level that can't apply to natural threats, only to wars.