2048: Earth expands and plots against Mars, which makes breakthroughs in AI.
The next decade is a period of consolidation. Earth continues to develop its moon bases and makes plans for space stations around planets such as Venus and Jupiter. There is much discussion about terraforming Venus. Earth continues to be wary of Mars, and governments hold secret meetings about how to deal with them. Vast amounts of money are spent developing new kinds of weaponry that might stand a chance against the Martians. On Mars, work is going very well on genetic engineering and digital lifeforms. Several breakthroughs occur, primarily by a genius called Lazaro, who is to artificial intelligence what Einstein was to physics. Indeed, in a twist of fate, the Earth I.T. attack on Mars gave Lazaro some of his best ideas on how to create a digital lifeform.
