Minerva

In the fall 1972, near the end of the Vietnam War, an international group of scientists met in secret to voice their complaints. Dissatisfied with how their respective governments used and abused their discoveries for political and military gains, these scientists renounced their loyalties to their individual nations and pledged themselves to the betterment of Earth. They named their covert organization Minerva, after the ancient Roman goddess of wisdom. Over the next 50 years Minerva quietly recruited more researchers to their cause, preparing for the day they knew the nations of the world would bring about their own downfall.

By 2023, World War III had devastated the majority of the “civilized” world. The major combatants were nearly wiped out by their own nuclear and biological weapons. While the Treaty of Kinasha technically established peace between the warring nations, the result was chaos. Governments crumbled as millions of their citizens succumbed to hunger, disease and violence. By the end of the year the only law left was the law of might. Military juntas tried to enforce rule over limited areas, but outside of their influence bands of armed men raped, pillaged and plundered.

Minerva, well established deep in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan, stepped up to promote peace and civilization in the region. In order to expand beyond their initial research mission, Minerva had to specialize into 3 divisions: Glaucus, Aegis and Oculus. Glaucus was the research department, focused on providing Earth-friendly technology to develop a sustainable society. Aegis, the military arm, was formed from the remnants of the U.N. Peacekeeping forces. Oculus specialized in gathering intelligence and seeking to expand Minerva’s understanding and control of the world around them.

Armed with advanced technology from Glaucus, Aegis was able to expand and defend Minerva’s territory from a small, secret base to thousands of square kilometers. Over 100 years later, Minvera controls a large section of Central Asia, providing clean energy, food and protection to hundreds of thousands of people.