Earth-8419

CHILDREN OF THE ATOM   Following the end of World War II, a new force rose within humanity itself, a parallel for the mighty atomics that had stunned the world with their power and had brought forth a new term to the mass consciousness: Super-power!   In the near-century that followed, the advancements and understandings of the human population both leaped forward at break-neck speeds, as well as became a seeming more incomprehensible landscape. Genetic mutations brought forth abilities and appearances varying widely from the norm, and many of those abilities seemed to break the very laws of physics that had ushered in a new age of science. Though slow at first, the growing number of "meta-humans" quickly became known to the general public, both through their natural occurrences and through the experiments and programs designed to identify - and sometimes even create - them.   And then came the Black-Out (also known as Dark Day). A world-wide disruption of technology - anything with a microchip - caused havoc around the globe. Planes crashed, systems halted, and rioting stormed through the streets. It lasted only a moment, but it's effects were felt everywhere - even on isolated systems. later, many people found that their latent genetic anomalies were activated by the event, with most developing some form of physical characteristic that marked them as an "other" - a member of the meta-humans commonly referred to as mutants. In the aftermath, the demographics have been steadily on the rise, with nearly 1 in 300 people positive for "mutant" genes.   As if that wasn't enough, a few years later, upon human-kind's first testing of a faster-than-light engine, we learned in a dramatic fashion that we were not alone in the galaxy. Alien vessels came down upon the surface of the planet in an attempt to savagely take control of the world through fear and firepower. While the super-powered individuals and militaries of the world mustered an initial response, another group of aliens followed suit, annihilating the first and establishing itself in a more diplomatic manner: The Toogarth Imperial Forces had been razed, and the Covenant - along with the Thissera-Micean Cooperative (TMC) - established peaceful relations in their stead.   The most recent revelation, though, has come from a place much, MUCH closer - the ocean depths themselves. Long the least explored environment of the planet, there has existed a series of kingdoms beneath the waves. Atlanteans exist! And they have decided to join the surface-dwelling inhabitants of the world in an effort to manage the global resources and diplomatic relations between this world and others. With their arrival comes a force at once new and ancient to the world of man - magic! How it's open practice will integrate with the societies of planet, only time can tell.