2357: in stark contrast to mankind’s hopes, violent astronomical events and the unregulated use of the new “solar extraction” technology have greatly accelerated the growth rate of our star during the recent decades. Now the Sun is nearing the end of its life cycle, and its fate -as any other star of its category- is to transform into a Red Giant. This will result in an exceptional increase in volume that will cause it to engulf Mercury, Venus, and possibly Earth itself. In the best-case scenario, the increase in volume will stop short of our planet’s destruction, but life as we know it would have already been destroyed due to radiation and the dramatic increase in surface’s temperatures. Our only hope, as mankind, is to build a colossal interstellar spaceship that would allow a fraction of humanity to evacuate on a “new earth” we have located in the Trappist star system during our search for viable extrasolar planets. Such a project, however, is far from simple: the resources we need can’t be found on our planet, and the few made available from the solar extraction technology are still insufficient. The only way to complete this monumental task is to harvest the materials needed directly from the other planets of our solar system. Every player will guide a Nation with the aim of becoming the foremost contributor in the race for the interstellar spaceship. If mankind is to be saved, whichever nation will be deemed the greatest contributor will have the honor of guiding humanity on this new Earth. —description from the publisher