
[2247-2299  Quest for the Stars]

As the United Nations' second fifty year plan for space
exploration and colonization came to its completion, science
teams around the solar system raced to find some answer to the
mass-deficiency syndrome which held back interstellar travel.
Finally, in 2247, the Bourns Corporation announced its successful
development of the hydrofunnel, a device by which hydrogen could
be captured in the deep of space. Several companies including
Aster and MDC began licensing production rights in lieu of the
2262 summit. There, a whole host of interstellar vessels were
commissioned for service. The quest for the stars had begun.

   To cap off the century in 2299, radio transmissions were
received from researchers on Alpha Centauri. A primitive
ecosystem had been discovered on the small world orbiting within
the primary's habitable zone, reinvigorating ancient hopes and
fears that human beings might find intelligent life in space, or
vice-versa.

