Antarctica is Terra's southernmost continent. It contains the geographic South Pole and is situated in the Antarctic region of the Southern Hemisphere, almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle, and is surrounded by the Southern Ocean. At 14,200,000 square kilometres, it is the fifth-largest continent and nearly twice the size of Australia. It is by far the least populated continent, nobody knows the exact amount of people living in the continent but it is estimated that around a 90% of the population are slaves of some sort.
Etymology[]
The name Antarctica is the romanised version of the Greek compound word ἀνταρκτική (antarktiké), feminine of ἀνταρκτικός (antarktikós), meaning "opposite to the Arctic", "opposite to the north".
Aristotle wrote in his book Meteorology about an Antarctic region in c. 350 BC. Marinus of Tyre reportedly used the name in his unpreserved world map from the 2nd century CE. The Roman authors Hyginus and Apuleius (1–2 centuries CE) used for the South Pole the romanised Greek name polus antarcticus, from which derived the Old French pole antartike (modern pôle antarctique) attested in 1270, and from there the Middle English pol antartik in a 1391 technical treatise by Geoffrey Chaucer, A Treatise on the Astrolabe, referring to the modern Antarctic Pole. Matthias Ringmann called Terra Australis the Ora antarctica (antarctic land) in 1505.
History[]
After World War III[]
After the most devastating war of human history, in 2045 all nations started to abandon their scientific research from Antarctic lands. In the 2050's and 2060's, the United Nations started a plan to create a global government to unify all humanity in order to avoid more wars to come, that plan would take effect in 2067. Many countries decided to abandon the United Nations before that year, like East Africa, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, Switzerland, Costa Rica, Singapore, Persia and the member countries of the Emporion Pact.
A new set of alliances and rivalries was set, a new Cold War was coming. A few factions with a complex system of alliances appeared being the biggest rivals the Confederation of Terra and the Terran Republic both claimed the whole planet for themselves.
During Cold War II, the anarchy started in the Antarctica; warlords, mercenaries, criminals, people seeking for adventures, refugees, religious cult members and slaves arrived in large numbers.
Contemporary history[]
Republican anti-piracy patrol. All factions have containment measures against Antarctic space pirates
In 2194, the Treaty of Bern declared the Antarctica as No Man's Land and all Terran faction forbid their citizens to go there, as it is the most dangerous place in the planet. No government has any control over the territory, only the strongest warlord can keep control.
There are countless criminal factions operating in the continent, often in war between themselves and dedicated to many different activities, mainly human, drug and weapons trafficking and space piracy. Spaceship abduction is also a common activity, being the Martian spaceships the most valued between pirates, due to their durability and difficulty to obtain. The surrounding seas and the aerial space of the Antarctica are patrolled by the Confederation of Terra Armed Forces and the Royal Armed Forces. The different factions' Space Navies also have to deal with the pirates, combats between the pirates and the Martian Navy are not common due to the latter does not operate in the Inner Solar System very often.
Geography[]
Antarctica appears in grey.
Positioned asymmetrically around the South Pole and largely south of the Antarctic Circle, Antarctica is the southernmost continent and is surrounded by the Southern Ocean; alternatively, it may be considered to be surrounded by the southern Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, or by the southern waters of the World Ocean. There are a number of rivers and lakes in Antarctica, the longest river being the Onyx. The largest lake, Vostok, is one of the largest sub-glacial lakes in the world. Antarctica covers more than 14 million km2, making it the fifth-largest continent, about 1.3 times as large as Europe. The coastline measures 17,968 km and is mostly characterised by ice formations.
Area[]
The total area of the Antarctica is 14,200,000 km2, making only smaller than the Confederation of Terra, the Terran Republic and the Kingdoms of Terra.
General characteristics[]
The Antarctica is entirely located in the Southern hemisphere and constitutes a continent by itself.
- Area: 14,200,000 km2 (ranked 4th).
- Highest point: Vinson Massif (4,892 m).
- Lowest point: Denman Glacier (-3,500 m).
- Longest river: Onyx (32 km).
- Largest lake: Vostok (12,500 km2).
- Climate: Polar.
- Terrain: Diverse, from coastal plains to high ranges.
- Natural resources: varied mineral resources.
- Natural hazards: strong winds, blizzards, volcanic activity, cyclonic storms.
Demographics[]
There are no censuses or official statistics in Antarctica. According to some estimations between 100,000 to 500,000 people could live in the Antartica, most of them slaves. There are Terran humans, Martian humans and also non-human sapient species from extrasolar worlds.
General statistics[]
- Population: between 100,000 and 500,000 (ranked 12th).
- Density: <0.1/km2 (ranked 12th).
- Growth rate: unknown
- Birth rate: unknown
- Death rate: unknown
- Life expectancy: estimated 41 years.
- Fertility rate: unknown
- Net migration rate: unknown
Languages[]
There are no official languages in the Antarctica but the most used languages are English, Spanish, Mandarin, Russian, Arabic, French and Martian.
Religion[]
There are no official religions in Antarctica, but it is known that some prosecuted cults fled to the continent seeking for freedom and shelter.
Health[]
The lack of hospitals and the fact that the Antarctica is a war-torn continent, make difficult to have a long life.
Education[]
It is unknown if there is some kind of regulated education in the continent.
Government and politics[]
There is no government in the Antarctica, no law and no military.
Economy[]
The main economic activities are derived from crime, like piracy, human trafficking, drugs, weapons trade... There is also mineral extraction activity and some warlords even trade with private companies from capitalist factions, even that has been declared illegal.
Infrastructure[]
The lack of regulation causes an important lack of infrastructures. But some warlords are able to keep important and well maintained space docks and supplies roads.
Culture[]
Cultural production from the Antarctica is close to inexistent, but there are so many entertainment created around the space pirate atmosphere. Like the Confederate film The Space Hijack (2412) which explains how the warlord and pirate Arwinder Ranader and his loyal crew abducted the Martian spaceship MNSS Hades and how that made him the most powerful man in the Antarctica.