Nuclear Fusion

The primary energy source powering the colonies, fusion promises clean, abundant energy, yet corporate monopolies create significant divides in access and affordability.

Nuclear fusion was once seen as humanity’s key to a sustainable future, developed in the 22nd century to solve Earth’s energy crisis amid dwindling fossil fuels and environmental collapse. Scientists successfully achieved stable fusion reactions, promising clean, near-limitless power. Fusion technology rapidly became the core of power infrastructure on Earth and throughout the Hyades colonies. However, rather than delivering broad prosperity, fusion’s benefits were quickly commercialized, with corporations controlling access to fusion energy. The few companies that mastered this complex technology exploited the cost of maintaining fusion reactors, establishing monopolies across each colony, with only the capital and wealthiest regional centers receiving unrestricted power. For smaller communities and independent settlements, high costs, poor access, and rationed energy became the norm.

These monopolies have shaped each colony’s internal hierarchy, with capital cities benefiting from cutting-edge infrastructure, regional centers receiving stable yet limited energy, and smaller, independent communities struggling with minimal access to fusion technology. While some attempt to develop alternative energy sources, corporations work hard to suppress or control these advancements, ensuring that their market dominance remains unchallenged. In these smaller communities, second-hand fusion reactors and black-market energy solutions have emerged, but they are risky and often fail without costly repairs. This disparity has created a tiered society on each colony, with energy poverty defining the boundary between modern living and survival mode.

Resistance movements and independent research groups are seeking to democratize fusion energy by creating more accessible, decentralized fusion reactors. However, these efforts are constantly undermined by corporate agents tasked with protecting their proprietary technology and profits. The future of fusion energy remains contested, with rising tensions between urban and rural populations, wealthy regional centers, and isolated communities that seek energy independence. The fight for fair access to fusion energy has become a flashpoint across the colonies, embodying the broader struggle between autonomy and corporate control.