Timeline

2004

 * Substantial resources are discovered in the Siberian wastelands, leading to the formation of the new nation of Kroskev. Cooperating to exploit their finds, the fractured nations reunite into the singular nation of Russia, and rise to take a place as a UN senior member.

2005

 * Attempting to fulfill his 'Walk among the stars' campaign promise, President Bush substantially increases NASA funding and fuels private industry's interest in space.

2008

 * The European Consortium officially ends. Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Iceland form the Scandinavian Trade Union.  Because of the cultural similarities in the STU, it succeeds where the EC failed.  STU launches major inroads into underwater exploration.

2009

 * Ireland is finally reunited into a single independent nation after the death of Queen Elizabeth. In three years, it will gain United Nations membership.

2013

 * Shortly after a new Emir takes the throne in Saudi Arabia, the 'Unification War' rages across the Middle East. With Israel as the only holdout, the Middle East is united under the flag of the United Arab Empire. The war(s) conclude in six months, before UN troops can even mobilize, with less than a million total casualties.   The UAE applies for UN membership, and is accepted in less than two years.
 * Award-winning blockbuster motion picture 'Eternal Friend' stars Haley Joel Osment as an alien who visits a world not prepared to accept his existence. Told from Jaquaal's (Osment's) point of view, he befriends the inhabitants despite heavy odds. In the classic Osment twist ending, the unforgiving world is revealed to be Earth.

2014

 * NASA shuttle Delivery successfully tests a fusion engine. A private firm, Outreach, Inc. manages to achieve two seconds of FTL travel before the craft explodes killing its test pilot, Jack Russell.

2015

 * First Contact with extraterrestrials is established when a craft lands in Colonial Bay, Virginia. Local superhero StarDancer is the first to speak to them.  Five years of 'Alien Mania' sweeps the planet, before the fad winds to a close.

2017

 * The first 'Cold Fusion' reactors begin operating and providing power.

2018

 * In the face of economic collapses, nations in Central and South America turn to each other for mutual support. The trend continues for several years.

2019

 * With the establishment of a permanent orbital space station, NASA begins quarterly shuttle trips to the asteroid belt to transport raw materials back to Earth.

2023

 * Casablanca, in West Africa, is destroyed in a nuclear accident. The area is quarantined for fifty years.

2024

 * 'The Day the Earth Stood Still: the supervillain Timekeeper encases the whole planet in a 'sphere of relative slow-time' for several subjective days. Following closely on the Casablanca Incident, this leads to public backlash against advanced science, metahumans and even aliens known as Neo-Luddism.
 * The multiple treaties in South and Central America are reformed into the CDA, for Confederación de Americas, an economic alliance of the member nations.

2028

 * VIPER splinter group captures multiple diamond mines in Africa, along with executing several national leaders. The new nation of Zu is formed.

2030

 * A devastating earthquake strikes China, killing the premier. The new rulership of the nation closes its borders and refuses outside aid.

2031

 * Rebuilding after the devastating 2030 earthquake, Japan and Taiwan become even more highly technologically advanced, setting standards that the rest of the world cannot match.

2037

 * President O'Reilly is assassinated by a team of supervillains. Those captured at the scene, and others tracked down later were executed. The body of laws dealing with superhumans and superpowers becomes collectively known as the O'Reilly Laws.

2050

 * United Nations officially becomes United Earth, authorized by member nations as the official organization for all extraterrestrial affairs. This accomplishes criteria #3 of 37 for required galactic acceptance.

2055

 * Sentient monkeys are assimilated into society after some strange incidents involving the heroes of Colonial Bay. They have rights like most humans in the United States.

2057

 * The TransMat system, Earth's first public teleportation service, opens its doors a month before its its rival, Hypersite, revolutionizing long-distance travel and threatening to expand to do the same to bulk freight.