Mars

Mars the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System was the sight of perhaps humanity's greatest discoveries, the eixstence of alien life. In 2148, a mining team on Mars unearthed the subterranean ruins of an ancient alien research station and for the first time there was incontovertable proof of alien life. Humanity was no longer alone in the universe.

The impact was profound in all areas but nowhere more so than religion. New beliefs sprang up overnight such as the Interventionary Evolutionists, who zealously proclaimed the discovery as proof that all human history had been directed and controlled by alien forces. Even established religions struggled to explain extraterrestrial life. Some tried to incorporate this newfound knowledge into their dogma, and a few tried to stubbornly deny the evidence foudn on Mars.

The news of the discovery dominated the media and raised questions not only about the existence and purpose of man, but questions about the aliens themselves. Foremost, were they still out there? And while these questions had served to fracture most religions they had a unifying effect in politics. It was now us vs. them and within a year the beginnings of the System Alliance was born.