OVERVIEW

The United Nations is now the last effective major political entity on Earth. Because of a historic opposition to violence, the UN is largely a defensive organization. Much of its resources are spent trying to keep what little is left of world order intact. Massive population growth combined with global warming (which melted much of the Arctic and Antarctic ice) and the resultant floods of low-lying cities has created a more or less permanent refugee crisis. The UN is the only force that is willing to deal with these refugees, though the methods they employ are occasionally brutal.

While the UN bureaucracy is divided into several different branches of service, none are as respected as the United Nations Military Forces. Coordinated by UNMF Central Command, an underground installation at the foot of the Himalayas, the Military Forces are ready to be deployed anywhere in the world to dispose of weapons of mass destruction, uphold the Human Genome laws, and deal with the relocation of refugees.

HISTORY

During the middle of the 21st century the UN began a Martian colonization program. As the colony flourished, more and more refugees were forcibly settled there. Sending the Earth's unwanted masses to another planet seemed the perfect solution. However the Syrtis Colony eventually rebelled and closed its doors to all new arrivals. Unable to wage an extended campaign against an enemy millions of miles away, the UN was forced to accept the inevitable and give up the colony. Recently, a new colony has been started on Venus, though due to the incredibly harsh conditions, going there is considered by many to be a death sentence.