It's the end of the 21st century and Earth is vastly overpopulated. Rather than ejecting undesirables into space (my personal favorite post-apocalyptic plan), the Odysseus project is formed to launch probes and, hopefully, find another inhabitable planet. One day, the planet Calypso pops up on radar, so the Earth-dwellers send some terraforming robots to tidy up the place. But then the humans arrive on Calypso and - Surprise! - The robots have revolted. Eventually, the evil bots are driven away to another planet where they continue to stew, plot, and recharge. Now, this formerly war-torn planet is truly the final frontier. And that's where you come in.
This final frontier on the planet Calypso is part of the massive online community Entropia Universe. Anyone can apply to become a pioneer in this new world and begin a new virtual life- and it's free. But that's not even the best part.
Entropia is more than just a game. It thrives on a real cash economy, so any income you make with your character can be exchanged for cold, hard Earth cash. The Entropia Universe currency (called "PED") has a fixed exchange rate with the US dollar where 10 PED = 1 US dollar. So, let's say you become a successful miner in the wilds of Calypso (it is rich in ore, gems, and oils, after all). These resources you gather can be used to make things like clothing and weapons. If you make a pretty penny off of your mining gig, all of your earnings are easily transferable into actual cash. Theoretically, you could make a real living from your virtual one.
