The United Earth Conglomerate (UEC) was established in 2093 as a multi-national regulatory commission in order to facilitate and monitor all off-world commercial activities within the Sol system.  Privatized mining operations on the moon and throughout the main asteroid belt had already become an integral part of the world economy.  However, with resources continuing to rapidly diminish on Earth, it was clear to many corporate leaders that the future of the Human race depended on expanding the role of industry in space.

The primary functions of the UEC were carried out by two separate administrative agencies:

*SolCorp was responsible for allocating business contracts for off-world colonies and spacecraft construction, designating travel routes for interplanetary expeditions, and providing private security for all of the permanently manned outposts throughout the Sol system.

*The Mining Guild was established as an industrial union for off-world mining operations.  Guild Barons were appointed to each outpost to regulate all local business transactions which included the taxation of these major corporations.

In less than a decade, the UEC had gained so much power over the world’s economy that it began to influence changes in global politics.  Although most countries continued to retain their own government officials, these politicians had become little more than liaisons to the media.  As a result, the UEC essentially developed into a Corporate Republic in which the global economic and political affairs of Earth were controlled by corporate interests.  Utilities, including hospitals, schools, the military, and the police force were all privatized.  The social welfare function normally carried out by the state was instead carried out by corporations in the form of benefits to employees.

Although each corporation continued to maintain their own hiring policies, the UEC implemented a new system of registering those individuals searching for employment off-world.

*Free Workers were those who had completed at least three years of secondary training and were highly skilled in their professions.  These individuals were in high demand and typically chosen for the most coveted work assignments in the system.

*Indentured Workers were often too poor to receive secondary vocational training.  These individuals were hired under contract to labor in an assigned occupation for an allotted amount of time in exchange for basic benefits.

As the Human race began to venture further into the vast frontier of space, the UEC began to establish new policies and regulations in order to maintain control over its expanding jurisdiction.  By 2175, the United Earth Conglomerate encompassed a total of ten star systems outside of Sol including; Alpha Centauri, Sirius, Epsilon Eridani, 61 Cygni, Procyon, Epsilon Indi, Tau Ceti, Groombridge 1618, Gliese 876, and Altair.  Most of the individual colonies were allowed to establish their own local governments and private security forces, although their leaders were still required to take orders directly from Earth’s corporate empire.

In 2182, after the Human race’s fateful encounter with the Zendathu, the UEC took immediate action to prepare for any future confrontations with this new alien threat.  The Mining Guild was authorized to begin offering tax incentives to companies that could increase production on new resources for a possible war effort.  This, in turn, brought about a renewed surge in colonization to the outer systems due to the heightened need for a larger workforce.

When the war finally came with the assault on Copernicus station, the UEC kept most of its elite security forces close to home in defense of Earth.   Throughout the prolonged conflict, as several strategic systems came under frequent attack, SolCorp dispatched only a small portion of its fleet to aid in the fight, allowing the individual colonies to act as a perimeter defense against a relentless enemy.  This forced many of the colony worlds to expand their own security forces in order to defend themselves.

After the war, the UEC attempted to restore its losses by raising taxes on many of its colonies.  This, along with many other unpopular policy changes, prompted several systems to declare their right to sovereignty.  SolCorp attempted to enforce martial law in a few systems, however, the outer colonies had built up impressive defense fleets of their own and another lengthy conflict was something the UEC couldn’t afford.

Currently, the UEC keeps a tight grip on its remaining star systems; offering political favors, financial incentives, and intimidation to ensure their allegiance.  With the addition of the Eta Cassiopeiae and Delta Pavonis colonies, the corporate empire has managed to expand its jurisdiction as far as 20 light years from Sol.

The creation of the United Earth Conglomerate was crucial in averting world-wide economic collapse and, in many ways, was also the catalyst for Humankind’s advancement into interstellar space.  However, many historians view the establishment of this industrial state as being more akin to a corporate takeover due to the fact that it was enacted without an official constitution by the people.  As the UEC’s jurisdiction grew larger and encompassed more and more systems, greed and corruption within its hierarchy became commonplace.  To this day, the Guild Barons have merely become political “puppets” with the Conglomerate pulling the strings to further its own agenda.  SolCorp even dispatches its security forces on trade missions to the outer colonies as a way of maintaining an appearance of superiority.  Yet, most of the independent systems find this continued attempt at intimidation to be an act of provocation and choose to completely avoid Earth itself unless absolutely necessary.

UPDATE IN PROGRESS