Here's a partial synopsis/run-down of my basic idea:
It's the dawn of the next century, and Earth, although somewhat of a utopian society, still has its separate nation-states, each of which still retains its unique culture and government. We, as humans, have also returned to exploring the stars, with several of the more prosperous and economically powerful and influential countries having banded together to create a unified space program which has expanded our reach and understanding of the universe far beyond our own solar system and galaxy. As the series begins, the planet is under a general uphoria of excitement over the discovery of a planet - located in a distant galaxy - which seems to have once been populated by intelligent life. What the explorers responsible for the discovery don't realize, however, is that the planet, while not currently inhabited, falls under the jurisdiction of a rather xenophobic alien empire, which views their incursion onto the planet as a hostile act, and, in response, follows the explorers back to Earth.
About a month or two after the explorers return to Earth, and with preparations underway for a return trip to the planet, the aliens who claim jurisdiction over it launch a surprise attack on the planet that kills hundreds of millions of people (wiping out the entire populations of several nations) and infects the remaining survivors with a deadly 'wasting disease' that will slowly result in the eventual extinction of human life as we know it. The aliens, satisfied that the incursion into their territory has been dealt with, depart. Meanwhile, Earth tries to rebuild, with the governments of the surviving nations banding together to create a coalitional government, and a team of scientists beginning to try and find a cure for the wasting disease, which leads to the discovery of a genetic link between the disease and the recently-discovered new planet, which prompts the immediate launch of the previously-planned expedition (which actually wasn't scheduled to be launched until months later) to the planet, this time with the specific intent of finding a way to cure the disease. This actually turns out to be but the first step in a long journey, and the bulk of the series would revolve around a 'crusade' to find the cure and, eventually lead to open conflict between Earth and the aliens responsible for the attack (since I happen to like sci-fi that revolves around or involves war).
Thoughts?
