For decades, an extra-terrestrial planetary confederation has had its eye on Earth as a potential investment destination.

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The last time its New Off-World Ventures (NOV) agency took a close look at Earth was in the 1980s. Then everyone got distracted as the planet went through an economic recession. Now, with recovery in sight, the government is anxious to find new growth horizons, and it asked NOV to reopen the Earth file.

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NOV’s planners picked up where they left off, but it soon became clear that a lot had changed since their last investigation, especially on the geopolitical front. They needed a clear picture of what was going on, and tasked their Intelligence Department (NOVI, “I” for intelligence) to provide it.

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In 2025, NOVI sent a field team to conduct close-up observations of Earth. The team has started feeding its preliminary findings back to HQ. Luckily we have access to NOVI’s portal, and their reports on Earth are replicated here.

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The field team is starting with contextual, or backgrounder, reports, and so far it has delivered three:

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• The International System (its shape, key dynamics, how it got this way, and what could drive change), December 2025

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• Western Incohesion (why the West as a global political actor is no longer a cohesive bloc, the key schisms within it, and the implications of incohesion), December 2025

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• The China-West Rivalry (its roots, why it intensified in recent years, each side’s reasons to confront the other, what they hope to achieve, how it is playing out, and where it might go), December 2025

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NOVI backgrounder reports planned for the near to medium-term future include:

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• Europe and Russia – rocks, hard places, and spaces in between

• Nationalist Populism – what, why, and implications for global change

• The Global South – from middle powers to failed states 

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(When you read a report, note that thanks to advanced interstellar communications, HQ can interject with the odd question as it reads the field team’s findings.)

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