Humanitarian Alliance Science

HAS is the organisation dedicated to the pursuit of furthering science. Founded with HATTER funds, it is now financially self-sufficient as it expects one third of its projects to generate a profit. Its greatest development was the Merlin Engine used by all large ships, on which it raised funds by using an on an open licence where anyone can build one but has to pay a one off fixed royalty. When the patent expired, anyone was able to freely build one, allowing the advance of ship development and therefore furthering science. Despite the freedom to innovate, Merlin Engines endure as a classic design and remain a continuing example on the merits of HAS. The engines may no longer be earning funds, but HAS continues to add new innovations to the market place ensuring its goal and its continued existence.

Generally HAS focusses on projects that are outside the scope of even the largest national income, or where research leads to a gain for all, but only costs the researcher. HAS also runs all the universities established by the HA and is the most generally advanced scientific institution in the world, with its Head University in the worlds scientific research capital, Bangalore.

Exploration

Working with Aetherial University, Portals were discovered in 2115 by a team led by and based on science discovered by Professor Oceania Snowmelt. In 2126 the HAS was in the position where it could map and explore new stars, and discovered that most solar systems were unsuitable for further expensive investigation. Some few however were exceptionally suitable for human settlement. The HAS decided to created its own fleet of science ships with the HASS prefix standing for Humanitarian Alliance Science Ship, built for science above all else and had minimal armament. Over time, as being in space was so common, the term ‘astronaut’ became relatively meaningless as everyone was an 'astronaut'. To distinguish them, even the Astry crews were known as ‘starlers’. In order to honour of the original astronauts, and those of the new science ship crews, their members were officially given the designation of astronauts. Decidedly non-military.

It was discovered that stars moving in relatively the same direction and speed as Sol were most suitable as the relative distances would remain the same. Additionally when the later communication over the Entangled Network arrived in 2181, the time effects were minimised. The first extrastellar explorers were out of contact for a minimum of a month but when the full entangled network arrived at the end of 2181, the constant communication was found to be paramount to the long-time psychological health of the crew. In 2181 the HASS Svarga was sent out on its planned last mission but something went wrong and at 2215, the ship is still heading out from Sol at a good degree close to the speed of light, nearly frozen in time.