Colonization Era
In A.D. 4318, Professor Markus Tannhauser wrote his masterpiece, “Principia Universalis.” His Unified Theory explained time-space discontinuities and their potential as gateways to the stars. Suddenly, this opened a wealth of new possibilities.
As the Ice Age came to an end, a Second Renaissance on Earth marked the beginning of Humanity’s return to space. A few centuries later, an exploration ship discovered Caprice, an Earth-like planet that could (barely) support human life. Almost a century later, Terra Nova was discovered and a colonization effort began soon after.
The first colonists were sent by corporations and worked for the duration of their contract before returning home. Over time, however, many among them were enthralled by the beauty of this new world and chose not to leave Terra Nova when their contracts expired. They instead settled down on a piece of land, sometimes given resources by the corporation that hired them to help them out.
After two centuries, many corporations put together support programs to help the new colonists get organized — it was advantageous for them since they had become “locals” and were no longer eligible for the outrageous wages paid to imported labor. An increasing number of workers built their homes all over Terra Nova, and over the course of the following centuries, the planet became one of the more successful colonies established by Earth.