The 'world' or 'universe' in which Deep Six is set is comparable to very few other settings from literature, cinema or electronic entertainment. As a result, the following has been compiled to give you a better understanding of the state of affairs, common social issues and technological development.

Mankind's expansion into the galaxy

Humanity has possessed the technology for viable intra-system travel since the early 21st century, and developed a viable method of inter-stellar travel in the late 23rd century.

Between these events the nations of the planet Earth established a number of orbital stations above the planet (starting with the international space station). America was the first nation to establish an offworld base of operations on the surface of the moon, though other nations soon followed suit and a series of violent clashes over Extra-Terran territory followed.

The existence of these offworld sites was not revealed until the 23rd century, when (after massive diplomatic negotiation) the first international offworld colony was established on mars. The landings were televised, and the nations of the world soon revealed the existence of other orbital stations and moon-bases.

As the 24th century approached, the long lasting but tense peace that had settled across the planet Earth was shattered. It had long seemed ridiculous, imperialistic and stereotypical to many citizens to suggest that a war would begin between the east and west - unfortunately, they were proved wrong.

It began with the invasion, annexation and obliteration of Pakistan by Israeli forces. The west, including Russia, rallied to defend the actions of Israel in face of constant terrorist attack, murder, kidnap and torture. The middle east, with the support of China and Japan rallied behind the Pakistani Refugees.

The two camps first came to blows in Iraq, where a strong western coalition military presence still remained, even hundreds of years after the American invasion of the 21st century.
The eastern forces surprised and overwhelmed western military assets in the region, and the globe was soon consumed in bloody warfare. The war lasted 23 years, and ended with western deployment of clean and powerful fusion warheads all across the middle east and China, in a remarkable echo if the second world war.

As time passed, people began to refer to the conflict as the 'Third world war' or the 'Final conflict'. Many nations that had exploited the situation and turned to civil war or strikes against the west were soon annexed by western forces, and in the face of such a massive military giant the wars of the world soon faded - stomped out by the west.

Many middle eastern nations no longer survive, some have even been lost to the annuls of history entirely. The nations of China and Japan are no longer countries in their own right, and by the mid 24th century the global situation had been reluctantly accepted by the nations of the world.

Within twelve years of the end of the last great conflict, the western coalition turned their attention towards the stars. The individual nations formed their own space expansion programs and soon began to establish new colonies outside of the solar system 'Sol' (Earth's star system).
An international committee was set up to oversee the planetary claims, expansion process and international relations. As a result of this system the numerous colonies outside of 'Sol' are governed by each individual nation, but all answer to an international affairs committee.

All in all six deep space exploration and colonization vessels (DsECV's) were constructed by the individual nations, either in cooperation or individually. It is now 2657 and mankind has now expanded over two hundred light years outwards from 'Sol', constructing numerous orbital stations, moon-bases and colonies across the stars.

No alien races have been encountered as yet, and humanity is beginning to suspect it is alone amongst the stars. They are about to discover exactly how wrong they are.

Technological development

The current level of mankind's technological knowledge extends to sustainable and viable interstellar travel, though it is not comparable to the sci-fi movies and programs of old.
Laser weapons and FTL (Faster than light) jump drives remain rooted in science fiction, but variations of certain themes exist.

Shields:
No interstellar ship possesses a 'shield' capable of deflecting and absorbing all impacts and hostile fire. However, a magnetic induction field is a reality. This 'MIF' is capable of interfering with information signals and thusly protects the vessel from digital assault, but more importantly scrambles the circuitry (much like an EMP) of any guided weapons within its range.
As a result, mass driver weapons tend to be the most common and effective form of weaponry in almost every situation.

Lasers:
The sci-fi hand-held laser weapons people have long depicted in entertainment media remain a thing of fiction. High intensity laser cutting tools do exist and are in use, but are relatively rare and expensive. These cutting tools operate in a similar fashion (with regards to range and necessary protection) to a blow torch.

Weaponry:
Due to the development of magnetic induction fields, mass driver weaponry (using dumb projectiles) remains the most common form of ranged weaponry. The term 'mass driver' describes the method of accelerating a solid projectile to cause blunt-force or piercing kinetic damage to a target.
Pistols, rifles, shotguns and machine guns have developed somewhat since the 21st century, but operate on the same principles in more or less the same way. The only significant addition to the list of hand held man-portable weapons is the rail driver.
Rail drivers fire by using two magnetic rails to accelerate a heated magnetic projectile to incredible speed. They are the most powerful weapons available today, but also the most rare, cumbersome and expensive.

Social differences:
Whilst the governments of the United Earth Coalition (formerly the Western Coalition) would maintain that hate and discrimination is a thing of the past, this is not entirely true. Whilst racism is no longer a social issue, xenophobia is becoming a problem.
The annexed nations currently living under the control of western governments harbor strong feelings of resentment towards westerners, and citizens of western nations have no trust for the easterners. These tensions are very real, and have been taken into space with the colonists and citizens who left earth for the stars.

Whilst the nations of the world maintain their own individual governments, answering only to the UEC (United Earth Coalition), a single global currency has been established. The 'credit' is the only unit of currency anywhere within the galaxy. One credit equates to roughly $1.50 USD (in 2008) for purposes of estimating an items value.
These credits are not printed or minted, but used via a computerized digital system. A 'credit card' is issued to every citizen and their account is secured with biometric identification, passwords and digital signatures.
Due to the vast distances a citizen might travel, differences in relative time at high speeds and difficulties in updating an account across multiple star systems, the 'credit card' contains the most up to date copy of a citizens account. Every time a transaction occurs a copy of the account is made and stored in Government archives as a back up.
As a result, should a card ever need replacing it may take an average of three weeks for a data-burst transmission to catch up with space vessels in transit. For this reason companies and governments have implemented protocols to provide temporary credit loans if required.

Government in the colonies functions much like the administration system of government on Earth. A colony settled, run and owned by one individual nation is governed much like a small city state, with elected representatives who sit in a senate / parliament / congress / house of lords with other colonial governors.
These organizations are chaired by a president or prime minister who effectively runs/rules the interstellar nation. Each nation answers the a governing body - the UEC (United Earth Coalition). As the nations of Earth expanded into space, the Western coalition changed and adapted to become the UEC - perhaps comparable to an inter-stellar 21st century European Union.