Super Earth

"Super Earth - Our home. Prosperity, liberty and democracy - Our way of life. But it doesn't come free, it is every man, woman and child's duty to protect our home, our culture, and our families. Why not make the most important decision of your life. Make the safety of your family a personal responsibility. And prove that you have the strength and courage to be free. Join the HELLDIVERS! Travel the galaxy, visit the capitals, meet unusual people and represent the federation. Secure the resources we need to preserve our way of life and create a future for Super Earth. Spread managed democracy throughout the galaxy. Become more than you are. Become a Hero. Become, a Legend!"

- Broadcast Narrator



State of the Galaxy
"Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is inhabited by more species than was previously believed, and it turns out, most of them are, in one way or another--hostile.

''The Super Earth military is fighting to keep back the tide of enemies that besiege us from all fronts. The elite Helldivers go both beyond the front and behind our own lines to support you and our troops." - Encyclopedia Description''

The Galaxy
"It is the year 2084.

''When mankind ventured into space, we were curious to see if anything loomed behind those stars; unfortunately, we were right. The initial contacts were peaceful, but soon the people of Super Earth realized the potential danger of communicating with alien species, and before we knew it, they started our first intergalactic war." - Encyclopedia Description''

Politics
''"Mankind has improved upon the old concept of Democracy. Utilizing computer aided voting software, citizens are asked to answer several questions, and the outcome of their vote is decided upon by the computer. This removes the uncertainty that existed in the old systems where voters didn't understand fully what they were voting for, giving us Managed Democracy." - Encyclopedia Description''

It is made very clear at several points in the game itself and in some of its DLC's descriptions that the government of Super Earth has a history of brutally suppressing dissidents:
 * The Super Earth broadcast screen states that: "Questions regarding the Federation or Government of Super Earth shall be sent to the appropriate quadrant. It is illegal to express oneself openly about the Federation or Government of Super Earth in a negative manner and serious cases may result in arrest or termination. Brought to you by Super Earth Pt Ltd. Sponsored by Super Earth."
 * One of the Privates on the ship's bridge mentioned that their neighbour apparently pressed charges on their son for not honoring the Super Earth flag, implying that is considered a crime serious enough to warrant turning in one's own close family members.
 * The first use of the iconic Hellpods was when the socialist government of Northman's Creek tried to secede from the federation of Super Earth. After fifty Helldivers dropped into the Parliament, they were quickly executed and the planet brought into compliance. These days, Northman's Creek is the region capital of the Struve Region on the Bug front.
 * The MP-98 Knight SMG is "often used by the Ministry of Defence to rapidly incapacitate groups of wrong-thinkers".
 * The Defenders' signature weapon is the aptly-nicknamed CR-9 Suppressor, a semi/full auto rifle firing small fragmentation grenades that can devastate large masses of enemies. Their AD-334 Guard Dog drones are most effective against unarmored targets, firing indiscriminately at anything deemed hostile.
 * The Ranger Pack DLC description mentions that "Ranger training was standard procedure for all Helldivers in the early years of Super Earth, but has now become rarer". From the Defender Pack DLC description, we know that "Helldiver Defenders used to double as riot police before humanity unified properly".

The above means it's likely that (a portion of) early Super Earth riot police were fully-trained military assassination and reconnaisance specialists before Super Earth unified -- and that the Ministry of Defence also either acted as a police force or supplemented it.

Fun fact: the TOX-13 Avenger's was "developed by Dr. Junko under the 2079 act of self-defence research and has been tested extensively on live targets."

The War
''"For 40 years, the war has raged on, a conflict whereby three hostile alien species are hell-bent on a single goal: the total annihilation of the human species. Luckily, the fighting spirit of man has not decayed since the last great war on Earth. We are now stronger than ever; man, woman and child alike are encouraged to try their strengths in the ultimate test - to have the courage to defend Super Earth." - Encyclopedia Description''

Cyborg Dissidents
''"A couple of years ago, Cyborg terrorists detonated a massive bomb in one of the city-planets killing thousands of civilians--now is our time to get back at them!" - Ship's C.O.''

Super Earth's usual "case for war" against the Cyborgs is: a cybernetically augmented human detonates explosives in an act of terrorism, killing several people on a Super Earth city-planet. Those who doubt this story run the risk of being labeled a "cyborg sympathizers". Note that the initial explosion may have killed thousands, but that every war with the Cyborgs in the game's Galactic Campaign is caused by a much, much smaller-scale terrorist attack.

Cyberstan, the Cyborg homeworld, is a barren snow-covered wasteland on the galactic fringe. Whenever it is conquered by Super Earth, the Cyborgs are then "democratized" by force, coerced into the voting booths by the threat of losing their civil rights. Super Earth's Army Tactical Command invariably stations troops on the planet for a period of 5 years to "keep the peace and run government positions", after which period the Cyborgs' culture is supposed to have transitioned to a "fully democratic" one (by Super Earth standards. Meanwhile, the Super Earth Construction Company (SECC), a government contractor, takes over the massive forges and industrial complexes of Cyberstan. Eventually, inevitably, another bombing starts this whole cycle anew.

Cyborgs are often depicted by the Super Earth government as socialists; they're are not helping their case with their choice of logo: a red star. Constantly shouting battle cries and muttering to themselves in a variety of languages, Cyborg troops gleefully deride the Helldivers and Super Earth as (among other things) "plutarch scum".

Rumors about the Cyborgs circulate among the ship's crew members; some (or all) of these rumors could be the result of Super Earth propaganda. According to one of the Privates, "a crazy scientist started replacing body parts on people she had kidnapped." The threat of being taken away by Cyborgs for these "perverse modifications" is apparently used as a boogeyman.

Capital Cities
Super Earth is the heart of the federation of Super Earth. Whenever the Galactic War is lost, Super Earth is rebuilt on a new planet and the cycle starts again.

All of the region capitals are based on the architecture and layout of Super Earth. According to the ship's C.O., there are over a thousand different large-scale cities in the entire galaxy. Their names are all based on the old city names of Super Earth - before they were replaced by the "much more convenient and easy to use" designation of "Metropolis". Regions and their capitals have fixed names, listed below.

Liberty Day
Liberty Day is celebrated on October 26th.

M2016 Constitution
Every citizen of Super Earth is issued a ceremonial (but functional) M2016 Constitution bolt-action rifle when they turn 16, to encourage military service.

Family & Relationships
The C1-PERM (pronounced "cee-one-perm") is required for citizens of Super Earth to legally reproduce. According to the NPC Privates on the ship's bridge, these forms are not that easy to fill out. Interestingly, the female NPC also mentions having a wife (in text as well as in spoken dialogue). From this, it can be inferred that same-sex relationships are not considered a taboo in Super Earth culture.