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Description
For half a century, Earth's moon was untouched by the children, and then the grandchildren, of those who had watched the Giant Leap. But then, they came, and they came, and they came. The decline of fossil fuels paired with the ever rising need for energy and raw materials made the vast deposits of rare earth metals and helium-3 in the lunar soils irresistible. The joint ESA-NASA Artemis program brought back the helium-3 to power the first industrial nuclear fusion reactor. When it roared to life, it changed human civilization forever. The United States and Europe were forging the carbon nanotubes for the cable of the first elevator within three years. Soon came a slew of nations scrambling for a share of the moon's wealth. Nine different polities set up on the moon, bringing with them a hundred thousand people. Towns rose from the dust or tunneled underground. Maglev rails tied the helium and water mines in the polar regions to towering space elevators at the equator. International agreement stated that miners had to be rotated up to the O'Neil cylinder cities of the elevator counterweight every seventy two hours to assuage the health effects of microgravity, though some, especially Selecorp, Russia, and Central Africa, tend not too. By the midpoint of the 21st century half of Earth's energy supply was coming from the moon.

United States Extraterrestrial Territory
As the oldest and best established lunar colonizer, the United State reaffirmed its position as the world leader, which had come into question in the previous decades. NASA rose to new heights of prestige as its century old promise was finally fulfilled. The U.S. jointly administers the Roosevelt, Tsukuyomi, and Dumont space elevators with its three primary allies.

ESA Settlement Project
Intimately intertwined with its American counterpart, the European Union's presence on the moon was in part meant to show confidence in the alliance of the Europe and America, sharply contrasting with the constant bickering of China, Russia, England, and Central Africa.

Selecorp Mining District
The darling of the American right. NASA, they said, was never intended to govern territory. The colonization and development of space was the domain of the private sector. And so with doting subsidies Selecorp planted itself on the far side of the moon. Support for NASA vs Selecorp swung wildly back and forth depending on which party was in power, ultimately resulting in both developing strong autonomy and a fierce competitive streak.

People's Republic of China Lunar Settlement Commissariat
China holds the distinction of being the only colonizer with a continuous maglev line running from pole to pole on the far side of the moon. While the expense of building it caused China to lag behind in the polar land-grab game, the Nanbu line is expected to bring significant advantage to the PRC in the future. There are also signs that Selecorp would pay handsomely for access.

JAXA Resource Extraction Zone
Much like the United States, Japan had seen its influence steadily decline over the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Pouring money into JAXA yielded Japan colonies in the Earthward Lunar Highlands and the north pole. Some of which are uncomfortably close to China's, an ancient enemy not made anymore amiable by the passage of time.

Indian Lunar Union Territory
Indian growth had begun to sputter during the late 2030s. Eager to maintain its rise to power and prosperity, India took to the moon as well. Though wedged between China and Russia was hardly what they'd had in mind...

Corporate Federal District of Brazil
Brazil began its rise from economic mismanagement and corruption to global respectability just as the Second Space Race was beginning to heat up. A hasty agreement with the United States brought a significant Brazilian presence to the moon.

Russian Federation Cosmos Oblast
The pet project of the aging Vladmir Putin before his death in 2041. It was really more than the smaller, weaker, poorer successor state of the Soviet Union could afford, but that mattered little to Putin. In any event, the under-equipped and mismanaged colonies have brought some degree of wealth and security to Russia.

Central African Special Military District
But to call Russia's colonies subpar is nothing when faced with the state of those of the Central African Union Pact, the brutally efficient state which rose and conquered the weak and corrupt states of the greater Congo Basin. Piggy-backing off of the Russian colony, the sole purpose of these settlements was to show the world that Africa had emerged and CAUP was its master. CAUP's nemesis, the more democratic and prosperous but less unified Economic Community of West African States, was humiliated, but kept its head enough to save its energy for greater prizes of the horizon.

After the Collapse

Description
For half a century, Earth's moon was untouched by the children, and then the grandchildren, of those who had watched the Giant Leap. But then, they came, and they came, and they came. The decline of fossil fuels paired with the ever rising need for energy and raw materials made the vast deposits of rare earth metals and helium-3 in the lunar soils irresistible. The joint ESA-NASA Artemis program brought back the helium-3 to power the first industrial nuclear fusion reactor. When it roared to life, it changed human civilization forever. The United States and Europe were forging the carbon nanotubes for the cable of the first elevator within three years. Soon came a slew of nations scrambling for a share of the moon's wealth. Nine different polities set up on the moon, bringing with them a hundred thousand people. Towns rose from the dust or tunneled underground. Maglev rails tied the helium and water mines in the polar regions to towering space elevators at the equator. International agreement stated that miners had to be rotated up to the O'Neil cylinder cities of the elevator counterweight every seventy two hours to assuage the health effects of microgravity, though some, especially Selecorp, Russia, and Central Africa, tend not too. By the midpoint of the 21st century half of Earth's energy supply was coming from the moon.

United States Extraterrestrial Territory
As the oldest and best established lunar colonizer, the United State reaffirmed its position as the world leader, which had come into question in the previous decades. NASA rose to new heights of prestige as its century old promise was finally fulfilled. The U.S. jointly administers the Roosevelt, Tsukuyomi, and Dumont space elevators with its three primary allies.

ESA Settlement Project
Intimately intertwined with its American counterpart, the European Union's presence on the moon was in part meant to show confidence in the alliance of the Europe and America, sharply contrasting with the constant bickering of China, Russia, England, and Central Africa.

Selecorp Mining District
The darling of the American right. NASA, they said, was never intended to govern territory. The colonization and development of space was the domain of the private sector. And so with doting subsidies Selecorp planted itself on the far side of the moon. Support for NASA vs Selecorp swung wildly back and forth depending on which party was in power, ultimately resulting in both developing strong autonomy and a fierce competitive streak.

People's Republic of China Lunar Settlement Commissariat
China holds the distinction of being the only colonizer with a continuous maglev line running from pole to pole on the far side of the moon. While the expense of building it caused China to lag behind in the polar land-grab game, the Nanbu line is expected to bring significant advantage to the PRC in the future. There are also signs that Selecorp would pay handsomely for access.

JAXA Resource Extraction Zone
Much like the United States, Japan had seen its influence steadily decline over the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Pouring money into JAXA yielded Japan colonies in the Earthward Lunar Highlands and the north pole. Some of which are uncomfortably close to China's, an ancient enemy not made anymore amiable by the passage of time.

Indian Lunar Union Territory
Indian growth had begun to sputter during the late 2030s. Eager to maintain its rise to power and prosperity, India took to the moon as well. Though wedged between China and Russia was hardly what they'd had in mind...

Corporate Federal District of Brazil
Brazil began its rise from economic mismanagement and corruption to global respectability just as the Second Space Race was beginning to heat up. A hasty agreement with the United States brought a significant Brazilian presence to the moon.

Russian Federation Cosmos Oblast
The pet project of the aging Vladmir Putin before his death in 2041. It was really more than the smaller, weaker, poorer successor state of the Soviet Union could afford, but that mattered little to Putin. In any event, the under-equipped and mismanaged colonies have brought some degree of wealth and security to Russia.

Central African Special Military District
But to call Russia's colonies subpar is nothing when faced with the state of those of the Central African Union Pact, the brutally efficient state which rose and conquered the weak and corrupt states of the greater Congo Basin. Piggy-backing off of the Russian colony, the sole purpose of these settlements was to show the world that Africa had emerged and CAUP was its master. CAUP's nemesis, the more democratic and prosperous but less unified Economic Community of West African States, was humiliated, but kept its head enough to save its energy for greater prizes of the horizon.

After the Collapse