Even as some would explore the stars, remember that many who remain behind scratch out an existence of near starvation in the dust so easily shed.

Dr Xian Yesui, UN Secretary General, 2053, opening address for discussion of Security Council Resolution 2731 – Tribunal for Colonial Governance of Territories in Earth Orbit

Our technologies and economies have diverged. To what end should we continue to pay allegiance to colonial masters who provide us with little by way of material benefit, with whom we have few social ties, and who no longer have the ability to enforce their power over us? It is time for us to make explicit that which we already know implicitly: our independence.

Ernest Balliol, governor of Equatorial 1, 2094, launching his first, unsuccessful, referendum for colonial independence from the United States

We have been staring into the heavens for thousands of years. Our community of scholars have been functionally independent of the bounds that tie us to our planet for almost a century, staring into that vastness. How could we not wonder? How could we not go?

Professor Ullianne Vijayarao, lead scientist on Allegro quantum navigation team, 2115, last interview prior to the space territory severing its umbilical and exiting earth orbit