[b]Name:[/b] Nuevo Arauco

[b]Type:[/b] Settlement colony

[b]Base on Earth:[/b] Santiago, Chile

[b]Philosophy:[/b] [i]La directiva[/i], the governing protocol of the Chilean Expedition, demands ethical treatment of all extraterrestrial organisms found in the Gaia Secundus system and provides for xenobiological study in order to become better acquainted with the new home of the Chilean people. However, colonial safety and well-being take precedent over the alien biota. Activities detrimental to the native wildlife such as clearing undesired brush and destroying hostile predators posing a clear threat to colonists are permitted.

[b]Leadership:[/b] Due to the communications delay between Earth and Gaia Secundus, it was apparent from the beginning that the day-to-day decision making of the Gaia colony would have to occur onworld. The Chilean government selected a temporary administrator to act on behalf of the government on Earth. Javier Faustino, esteemed hero of the Antarctic War, was chosen for this critical post.

[b]Religion:[/b] Although most of the colonists are Roman Catholic, the Chilean Expedition is an expressly secular enterprise.

[b]Background:[/b] As Earth's lower latitudes baked under a soupy, carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere, humanity retreated to the colder reaches of the planet. Russian Siberia was trampled underfoot by a billion Chinese and Indians fleeing the intolerable heat, famine, and erratic weather patterns in their countries. Subsaharan Africa drained into South Africa and Namibia. In South America, the people of Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, and others poured into the relatively-mild Southern Cone: the southern tip of Chile and Argentina. As both the southernmost South American nations staggered under the weight of millions of refugees, the Chileans and Argentines began to look across the Strait of Magellan for solutions. Antarctica - particularly the northern reaches of Graham Land - had become rather mild due to the intensifying climatic shift. Both Chile and Argentina established settlements and research outposts in overlapping claims in the Antarctic. Competition quickly escalated into military conflict when Chilean and Argentine aircraft attacked one another over Antarctica, and the confrontation snowballed from there. Chile was soundly beaten and would have been utterly vanquished if not for the daring efforts of Captain Faustino. Bloodied and deprived of her antarctic lebensraum, Chile looks to the stars for a new homeland.