Ever since the United States dissolved in the Government Crisis of 1929, the continent of North America has been a patchwork of small countries, much like the Balkans after their wars of independence, with one exception. All but two of these countries are English-speaking. Therefore, they have all confederated into the North American Union, which deals with the advancement of peace, security, human rights, culture, exploration, and science across its member nations. In 1972 the Union managed one of humanity's greatest feats ever - they succeded in putting two astronauts on the moon. However, after the death of NAU Director of Space James Webb and his subsequent replacement with Richard "Tricky Dick" Nixon, a conservative former car salesman from California, outer space has remained largely untouched. 1994 saw the death of Nixon, and he was replaced with Daniel Goldin, a more forward looking man who believed humanity should look deeper into space. The Goldin administration saw the start of the Ares program, an ambitious project concerned with finding new resources and exploring our distant past - more distant than anyone could imagine.