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After years of often contentious negotiations and debate, the Earth was finally accepted as a full member of the galactic Milky Way Alliance yesterday. During a ceremony at the headquarters of the United Republics, successor to the United Nations after its dissolution 2691, to mark the occasion, Secretary General Robert Obtunga declared the day a milestone in the history of the human race and an essential step to integrate the planet with rest of the universe.

“It is simply remarkable that, less than 500 years ago, we still thought that we were alone in the universe,” said Obtaunga to delegates of the various Earth republics and the colonies of Mars. “But now, here we are in the year 3855, and we are officially joining a coalition of thousands of star systems.”

The agreement that was reached between the Earth and the Milky Way Alliance was hammered out over ten long years, due only in part to the extremely long distances needed to communicate with the core members of the alliance. Due to the fact that the Earth is an outlying planet within the galaxy, transportation and communications are generally not as fast or reliable as they are with the inner planets of the galaxy.

Indeed, this was a point of considerable tension between the Earth and its many detractors within the Milky Way Galaxy who did not feel that the Earth had done enough to earn full membership status, especially considering the benefits it will receive. As one of the poorer planets in the Alliance, the Earth will be entitled to considerable development and technological assistance in order to raise its standard of living.

However, most members of the alliance remained appreciative of the Earth’s assistance in the recent Intergalactic War, when the United Republics allowed the Milky Way Alliance to build a frontier military base on the moon. This would turn out to be an important outpost for the alliance that allowed them to conduct numerous raiding missions in neighboring galaxies.

As part of the agreement, that military base will be allowed to remain on the moon, providing considerable protection to the Earth with its numerous directed-energy weapons against raiding parties and other enemy forces. Given the vulnerability of the Earth to invading forces due to its remote location, the United Republics had little argument against allowing the base to stay.

In order to power the base and other projects, the Milky Way Alliance will begin construction of the long awaited Dyson Sphere to handle the energy loads of the new infrastructure projects. This energy infusion is expected to dramatically lower energy costs within the solar system, providing substantial savings for the United Republics. It was one of the items deemed essential to the United Republics for its future progress as a civilization.