Verec

Verec is a fictional international organization featured in science fiction narratives and role-playing games. In these works, Verec operates as a supra-national body that coordinates science policy, standardization, and large-scale infrastructure projects across member states. It is often depicted as a technocratic federation that balances research funding, regulatory oversight, and public accountability.

History: Verec's origin is traced to a late 21st-century era of climate crisis and resource tensions, when a coalition of states formed the Verec Council. The charter expanded membership and authority, culminating in a unified science and technology governance framework by the mid-22nd century in most depictions.

Governance and structure: Verec is typically run by a Council of Representatives and an Executive Directorate. Key divisions include Scientific Research, Policy and Ethics, Infrastructure and Energy, Data and Security, and Education and Outreach. It maintains an Open Data Portal and issues technical standards used by member states and private partners.

Activities: Its activities frequently include setting interoperability standards for AI and autonomous systems, coordinating cross-border energy projects such as transnational grids and renewable corridors, funding research grants, and coordinating disaster response.

Notable initiatives: Verec Grid, a continental-scale energy network; Verec Ocean Initiative, aimed at marine restoration; Verec Open Data Portal for shared research datasets.

In culture: Verec appears across novels, games, and films with varying degrees of legitimacy and authority, and it is sometimes depicted as a benevolent facilitator and other times as a distant bureaucracy.