The War was a real seminal twenty-year moment for me. There’s the life I had before it started. That me died at Alpha Centauri. There’s the person I became at Alpha Centauri so I could fight. He died too. He didn’t belong in a world after Wars End. And then there’s the new me. I got a new chance to go to worlds again for the first time. To see what I’d fought for. Who I’d fought for. To get a chance to live in peace and quiet. That was an eye-opener.
Modern Core Worlds children grow up in worlds where virtual is as real as physical. They can learn lessons in virtual classrooms and exercise in virtual gyms full of other people while never leaving their home. They’ve built virtual cities with functioning governments and social systems as enduring as physical cities. They can even work and live inside the virtual worlds with virtual avatars similar to the physical avatars that AIs and cybers use in the physical world.
Many people consider the Empire-class battleship the best export out of The Empire State since Old New York City and New York State went their separate ways. Primarily built off the coast of Old New York City in underwater factories, the Empire became the most heavily produced battleship America had after the loss of Yosemite Yards. They fought in most major actions and flew the American flag throughout Alliance space as The War engulfed us all.
World War II was a true clash of civilizations not seen since the Islamic Conquest and the resulting Crusades. Japan and China fought a genocidal war in the east that would have no victor. And Germany executed millions of civilians behind lightning attacks that shattered the remnants of the old world in the west. The war wreaked unparalleled destruction and it would take unparalleled destruction to end it. It was a war of survival that far too many people did not survive.
Gamma Trianguli. Free Tibet. Shambhala. The system has many names. The Chinese had some too but very people outside the Chinese use them anymore. Most of the Chinese industries are gone now of course. The locals didn’t want them and the Chinese didn’t want to leave them. So modern Shambhala is quiet in most places. Lots of nice places to slow down and relax. A bit thin on the air but I’ve learned to like it over the years.