Humanity is a species evolved around intrigue. We're always wondering about different things, particularly with the universe and space. What's really out there? Will we ever see a Death Star be created within the Milky Way? This human quality is also something Stardock has used to craft the latest expansion to its hit game Galactic Civilizations III, aptly named "Intrigue." Set to roll out sometime this spring, Stardock CEO Brad Wardell delved into some detail about how galactic governments will work and what could be in the cards for humanity when we enter the space-faring age.

Is anybody out there?

In a blog post, Wardell mentioned the time it took the Curiosity rover to send a signal back to Earth from Mars: 12 minutes and 48 seconds. Mars isn't too far from Earth considering the seemingly endless size of the universe. It took nearly thirteen minutes for us to beam data between two planets in our own solar system. Problems arise when one needs to know immediately about something, be it an issue with a spacecraft or other time-sensitive data. Best VPN providers 2020: Learn about ExpressVPN, NordVPN & more Asking for an update from someone who may be located on Mars could take up to half an hour for a response to come through — taking into account the time it takes for signals to hit the red dwarf and then to return to Earth. As Wardell notes in his post, this "leaves a lot of time for uncertainty, for doubt, for fear ... for intrigue." Should a space station in orbit experience difficulties, personnel on Earth would have to wait to find out the current situation and if there was any loss of life. If we colonized Mars, would citizens be of Mars or Earthbound nation-states? That's but one issue with humanity's expansion into space. "Let's presume humans get to Mars in the 2030s. Let's also presume that at some point soon, we actually plant a colony on Mars. Are those colonists citizens of Mars? Or are they citizens of their respective, Earthbound, nation-states?" Wardell wrote. The notion of a nation-state comes into question when talking about different planets, and how the species is going to approach such issues is going to take much thought and discussion. Would the colony wish for independence from Earth? Would the political climate on Earth affect extraterrestrial territory? For the Commonwealth