Space Elevators are world-massive structures used to send materials into orbit far more cheaply and safely than rockets. A few space elevators have been constructed and have shaped the way connections and travel to the Moon and Mars have gone. The elevators have been built by and used by only the world’s wealthiest countries and were built in places outside their own land in developing areas. The first wave were built in places like Zimbabwe, Thailand, Ecuador, and, most infamously, the Congo. There has been much controversy caused by their construction and their with regards to noise, pollution, and power imbalances. The construction of one in the Congo was the focal point for the Congolese Conflict which resulted in Chinese withdrawal and the formation of the Western African Union. In 2084, most new Space Elevators are built in areas like the New Confederacy, Europe, India, and China proper. This has created competition, and new technologies have made older elevators less viable, creating pricing pressures, leaching prosperity, and causing greater social stresses. [Source: FN Map - The Earth] [Source: The Congo Conflict: Shot List]

It is the year 2084, and tensions between the world’s two largest super-powers, India and China, are surging towards a breaking-point. The seeds of what could be World War Three were sewn in an unlikely place -- the Democratic Republic of Congo.

As part of China’s drive to not only be the dominant power on Earth, but in space, China bankrolled the construction of numerous space elevators in countries around the world -- massive structures that could send material into orbit far more cheaply than rockets.

These countries would reap the benefits of having a major trade route in their backyard. China would loan the nations Futures cryptocurrency to build the elevators - but could buy them back, and the surrounding territory, if the loan payments were late.

India had publicly spoken out against the practice, but lacked the financial ability to make better offers. It seemed as if the People’s Republic would soon build themselves an almost insurmountable edge in the heavens.

However, it quickly became obvious that the Elevators would create much more wealth than originally thought. Fearful of losing control of this valuable infrastructure, China quickly called in loans around the world.  The Democratic Republic of Congo, was the first nation able to pay on this accelerated time-table.

It was rumoured that members of the Ecclesia brokered the deal between DRC and India that provided the African nation with the money needed to pay the loan. Regardless, China suspected India and declared the payment void, and the elevator, and a third of the DRC’s capital city of Kinshasa, Chinese territory.

When Chinese soldiers moved in to secure the elevator they were ambushed in what became known as the Lukungu Massacre. The violence quickly escalated as China poured more troops into the city, but with both sides wanting to keep the elevator safe, China held back from a massive bombing campaign.

China accused India of supporting the Congolese “terrorists”, while India stated they only had “military observers” in the DRC. As the conflict continued, the rest of Africa watched - many resented China’s increasing influence on the continent, but were reluctant to engage with the superpower.

That changed after Akosua Nkrumah’s famed: “United of Blown Apart” speech. Nkrumah, the Vice-President of Ghana exhorted her fellow African nations to support the DRC. Comparing China to the Colossus-level storms of the 2040’s, she said Africa could either be: ‘united or be blown apart.’

Not only did Nkrumah’s call see a pan-african force marshalled to face China, it galvanized opposition to China around the world. With the fighting dragging on into a fifth year, it’s interests being attacked around the globe, and increasingly loud opposition to the war at home, China eventually withdrew from Kinshasa, and the ‘conflict’, never officially a war, was over.

The aftermath saw several major changes. Emboldened by their success, much of Africa joined together into a Second African Union, dedicated to increasing collaboration and living standards across the continent, while minimizing foreign control. This movement would later inspire the Liberation Collective in South America, who still fight in the Amazon to this day.

India’s behind-the-scenes help of the rebels made it an ally of the Second Union. The two groups have united in an aggressive expansion in space, building colonies on the Moon, on Mars, and in the Asteroid Belts.

But, the Congo Conflict also raised the likelihood of a third World War. China sees India’s action in the DRC as proof of their deceitful character, and moral inferiority for hiding behind African soldiers, while India uses the conflict as proof of China’s desire to dominate - and refusal to play by any rules but their own.

This has led to increased border skirmishes between the two nations, and the threat of another proxy war is rising.

For Chinese veterans of the conflict life has been difficult - known as the ‘Time of Shame’ in China, the fighting is rarely discussed, and those who fought are encouraged to either stay silent, or be ostracized from the rest of society.

And then there is space - where India and Africa now enjoy a much more even footing with China - opening up another front for a potential Third World War. [Source: The Congo Conflict script]