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This fanfiction article, Earth, was written by Distant Tide. Please do not edit this fiction without the writer's permission.
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This article, Earth, is currently under active construction.
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This is a fanon expansion of a canon element. To see the original canon article, follow the link to Halopedia: Earth.
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- "Never saw Earth in person until I was an adult, but... I still think of her as home."
- ― Captain Thomas J. Lasky, UNSC Infinity
Earth, characteristically referred to as Sol III, is the third-closest terrestrial planet from its main sequence star, Sol, and the presumed homeworld of the Human species. The permanent capital of the Unified Earth Government, it is one of the best-defended and most-developed planets among the Human colonies.
Prior to the final years of theHuman-Covenant War, Earth was the most populated planet in the UEG with over ten billion human residents. However, following Covenant attacks in November 2552, the planet's population and defenses were decimated; billions of people were killed or evacuated to the few remaining Human colonial holdings.
By the War's end, much of the planet's was repopulated as refugees and former residents returned to Earth. In the following era dedicated to rebuilding human society, Earth's population saw a drastic uptick in residents to near pre-Covenant War levels. Official census data remains inconclusive, however, due to the presence of undocumented human and alien refugees numbered in the millions.
UEG Colony Record
- "There were once nearly a thousand permanent human outposts in the Orion Arm, ranging from resource factories buried in rich asteroids to terraformed worlds with populations in the billions. The Covenant burned most to glass and rubble."
- ― UEG Ministry of Information Colonial Registry
- EARTH
- Earth is the cradle of humanity, scarred by war but brimming with possibilities.
- SYSTEM: Sol
- SATELLITES: Luna
- POPULATION: 7.9 billion
- With its large and diverse population, Earth serves as a center of governance, a leading center of artistic innovation, and the home of cutting-edge research and development. Terraforming technology has also helped to remedy centuries of mistreatment, though some environmental damage and scars of war will never be completely healed. Following the Covenant War, many of Earth's cities lay in ruins, but intensive reconstruction and redevelopment have resulted in normalcy and prosperity for most of the population.
Post-War Reconstruction
- "I promise this to every man, woman, and child on Earth and in its colonies. While we will continue to strive for a peaceful coexistence with other species, humanity will never again allow itself to be the victim of aggression. This is the moment we start to reclaim our rightful place in the universe."
- ― UEG President Ruth Charet, Inaugural Address on 08 January 2553.
Notable Locations
- "What we should do, Commander, is understand — clearly — that this is humanity's final stand — here — at Earth."
- ― Fleet Admiral Lord Terrence Hood to Commander Miranda Keyes.
As the oldest world in Human possession, Earth is a cultural and historical epicenter for human society. The scars of war and the signs of human civilization dot its surface, often twinkling in the darkness on its nightly face. With so much history and so many calling it home as the UEG's most populous and ancient world, there are many places on Earth and its lone moon, Luna, worthy of discussion.
There are millions of stories of note regarding Humanity's homeworld, it is ultimately a shame that the colonial citizens of distant worlds refuse to recognize Earth's significance. To the Insurrectionists, it's just another rock among the stars. Regardless, their opinion is wrong. Earth is the crown jewel of Human space, and it would be the greatest shame on the entire species should she fall. As expressed during the Covenant War, if Earth falls, Humanity falls.
Excession at Voi
New Phoenix
- "Sunset on New Phoenix: City still under quarantine six months later."
- ― Waypoint Nine Article Headline. 06 Feburary 2558.
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Greater Rio de Janeiro
- "Isn't this supposed to be the 'tropical paradise of Brazil'? It's not what I imagined."
- ― Andra-D054 upon visiting Rio de Janerio.
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Sydney
Residental Population
- "Must have been some bombardment..."
- ― Maksym Blaauw, ECB News war correspondent.
Before the Human-Covenant War, Earth was easily the most-populated planet in the Human colonies, several space mega-habitats potentially withholding. With a population easily surpassing several billion, Earth easily outclassed the next closest planetary colony, Reach at a measly 703 million residents. Major conflicts such as the Insurrection, and later, the Human-Covenant War, saw the population fluctuate drastically into the twenty-sixth century as the number of refugees from distant colonies came to settle on Earth, ballooning to over ten billion people.
Significant lives were lost during the Battle for Earth, reaching the point that over 90% of the planet's population was unaccounted for at a time, whether killed-in-action, evacuated, in hiding, or simply missing. Even in contemporary times, the population of Earth during the Battle for Earth and the years after remains up for debate. Not even the Unified Earth Government's federal ministries and departments struggled to find an exact number in the post-Covenant War environment, including the Ministry of Information which was one of the first government agencies to officially put out any statement on the matter.
On the afternoon of the Human-Covenant War's official resolution, March 03, 2553, the acting Minister of Information, David D. Dunn, attempted to provide some degree of information regarding the Earth's population numbers even as clean operations were still ongoing and the dead and missing could not be accounted for. The original question was asked by a reporter from the Waypoint Nine Network, Jaywant Miralay, during the public conference at the UEG President's estate at the New Kirribilli House in Sydney, Australia.
In recent years, several disputed numbers regarding the population count before, during, and after the Battle of Earth came out, though, to what degree each are accurate remain inconclusive, especially regarding the number of former Covenant refugees residing on Earth.[1]
- Before the Battle for Earth in 2552, the reported population count was said to be near 10 billion people, including refugees.
- During the Battle for Earth, beginning in November 2552, evacuation orders and casualties from Covenant attack were so chaotic and terribly unorganized that over 90% of the planet's population could not be accounted for.
- The source on the 90% missing remark remains unknown and unfounded, however, the data point has found some backing with rumor-mills continuing to circulate the claim on Waypoint and ChatterNet that the UNSC Armed Forces abandoned as many as 200 million civilians during tactical retreats from numerous combat theaters.
- A value of 9.8 billion people has been thrown around, however, what it alludes to specifically is unknown. It seems to be derived off of the stranded 200 million civilians controversy.
- In 2557, the Unified Earth Government reported a supposed Earth population of 7.9 billion people, however, what census or statistical program that was used for the calculation has been withheld without explanation. Claims of misrepresentation of true population statistics have developed into ongoing riots among population centers hosting large quantities of disenfranchised colonial refugees.
- No official census reporting has been attempted regarding how many alien refugees have remained on Earth since the end of the Human-Covenant War.
Transcript Excerpt - 03 March 2553
| MARCH 03, 2553 FORENOON // SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, EARTH
TRANSCRIPTED EXCERPT FROM UEG PRESS CONFERENCE AT THE NEW KIRRIBILLI HOUSE IN SYDNEY.
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[REPORTERS SHOUTING FOR ATTENTION]
[MIRALAY, WP-9] "Minister! Minister!"
[DUNN, MoI] "Waypoint Nine. Go ahead."
[PAUSE]
[MIRALAY, WP-9] "With the suspension of hostilities with the former Covenant secessionists and the return of governmental functions to civilian hands imminent, can the UNSC report figures, officially, regarding the casualties sustained during the Battle for Earth?"
[EXTENDED PAUSE]
[DUNN, MoI] "One second..."
[EXTENDED PAUSE]
[DUNN, MoI] "Cleanup operations remain ongoing. My associate from the Office of Naval Intelligence has more detailed information, however, what I can report at this time is that of more than ten billion residents, a significant number of them were evacuated off-world or to reinforced shelters upon the first detection of Covenant forces."
[MIRALAY, WP-9] "What can you say about the leaked report regarding 200 million stranded civilians?"
[DUNN, MoI] "Mere speculation. If we could manage to get 99% of the Earth's population off the planet before the Covenant attacked us, it would have been a miracle. The reality is...due to extensive evacuations and fatalities during the attack, the number of humans on the planet dropped to approximately 200 million...based on that rumor anyway. Let me clarify that is an unfounded rumor with zero evidence! Though no formal census has been conducted, the actual number is presumably much higher."
[PAUSE]
[DUNN, MoI] "There were approximately 10 billion citizens on Earth prior to the Covenant attack. Many of those were evacuees and refugees from other colonies. To date, the government's current estimate, though still under investigation suggests there are several billion currently residing on Earth today. Many of them returning home, and many more on their way. For those coming home, we wish them safe travels and tell them they are in our hearts and on our minds, as is our fallen and all of our citizens across our territories. We've weathered the storm, and we are stronger together..."
[EXTENDED PAUSE]
[DUNN, MoI] "Excuse me... Any follow up questions?"
[PAUSE]
[DUNN, MoI] "Next question?"
[REPORTERS RETURN TO SHOUTING]
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References
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