EDENELT (Trin's Veil/Spinward Marches-2733)

NOTE: canonical items appear in yellow.

Edenelt is the largest terrestrial object orbiting Zeta Scuti in Trin's Veil subsector. Lying at the convergence of two Xboat routes through the Spinward Marches, it benefits from a large amount of merchant and naval traffic. Many visitors conduct their business without actually setting foot on Edenelt, as habitats abound in the system's three planetoid belts.

Edenelt is actually a moon of Lusorga, the first of four gas giants orbiting Zeta Scuti. Its proximity to two massive objects preserves its hospitable climate - temperature, gravity and atmospheric pressure all approach Terran norms on the low side - and has sustained its geological dynamics for far longer than in other planets of similar size.

Although Edenelt is tidally locked to Lusorga, all of its surface receives sunlight as the gas giant rotates. Since it has no axial tilt, Edenelt does not have seasons differentiated as markedly as Terra. When Lusorga lies between the primary and Edenelt, the hemisphere directly beneath the planet undergoes a "false night" for approximately 30 minutes. This phenomenon occurs roughly every 3.5 local days, and delineates an Edenelt "week."

BASICS

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Orbital Period (around Lusorga) 3.131 days
Surface Pressure 0.91e
Surface Temperature 295.302 deg. K
Surface Gravity 0.7e
Diameter 3978 mi.
Mass 0.137e
Density 5.99
Hydrographics 30%
Population 673,000,000
TL10

WTN 5
Control Rating 4

SOCIAL PARAMETERS

Pluralism: Moderate (+1)
Toleration: Moderate (+1)
Solidarity: Collectivistic (+2)
Tractability: Submissive (+3)
Aggression: Pacific (-3)
Pragmatism: Empirical (+2)
Innovation: Moderate (+1)
Providence: Moderate (+1)

POPULATION STATISTICS

ORBITAL (incl. Habitats, Starport, Research Facilities): 5,000,000
MAJOR CITIES (11):
Klement (21,000,000)
Buckminster (9,000,000)
Subachi (8,000,000)
3 @ 7,000,000
5 @ 6,000,000

SYSTEM CONTENTS

Click Here for explanation of non-canon UPP codes.

PRIMARY
Zeta Scuti	M7V	PGB = 934
ORBIT (AU)	BODY	NOTES
0.069	Lusorga	Gas Giant; 0/1/0 moons; no ring
	Edenelt	A-4638BD-B [research station]
0.369	Draupnir	Gas Giant; 7/0/2 moons X-000XXX-X; large ring
0.669	Planetoid Belt	S-asteroids
1.269	Hiris	Gas Giant; 5/1/3 moons X-000XXX-X; small ring
	Vessam	D-300410-B
2.469	Planetoid Belt	C-Asteroids
4.869	Brisingamen	Gas Giant; 8/0/3 moons X-000XXX-X; large ring
9.669	Kuiper Belt	orbital resonance with Brisingamen
	Phylax	D-2002S7-D [Xboat station]

SYSTEM FEATURES

A. STAR

Zeta Scuti is one of the dimmest stars in the Scutum ('shield") cluster, a small main of eleven stars in the coreward portion of Trin's Veil subsector.
Luminosity 0.004s
Mass 0.112s
Surface Temperature 2800 deg C
Radius 0.002s
Age 6 billion years

B. PLANETS

1. Lusorga
The closest planet to Zeta Scuti, Lusorga is a small but dense gas giant. Because of the primary's gravity, it has no ring.
Orbital Period 19.782 days
Diameter 25,000 miles
Mass 7.955e
Density 1.4

2. Draupnir
The most massive object orbiting Zeta Scuti, Draupnir boasts an impressive ring visible from other planets.
Orbital Period 0.67 years/244.643 days
Diameter 65,000 miles
Mass 69.905e
Density 0.7

3. Hiris
An average gas giant with a faint ring. Fuel-skimming expeditions from Vessam are a common occurrence.
Orbital Period 4.272 years
Diameter 35,000 miles
Mass 21.827e
Density 1.4

4. Brisingamen
A large gas giant with a ring system comparable to Draupnir's. Also like Draupnir, Brisingamen has no large moons.
Orbital Period 32.103 years
Diameter 47,500 miles
Mass 38.972e
Density 1.0

C. PLANETOID BELTS

1. The innermost planetoid belt in the system orbits between the gas giants Draupnir and Hiris. It is primarily composed of silicates: mainly S-asteroids (79.5%), with B-, D-, G-, and P-asteroids making up about 20% of the remainimg total.
2. Zeta Scuti's richest planetoid belt lies between the massive planets Hiris and Brisingamen. Typical specimens will be C-asteroids (84%), with a fair amount of M- (8.5%) and E- (7%) bodies. Approximately three million sophonts work or live in this belt; many residents trade or otherwise visit Vessam on a regular basis.
3. Beyond Brisingamen lies a Kuiper belt of objects in orbital resonance with that world. It includes dormant comet nuclei, wayward planetoids from the inner rings, and the large plutino Phylax.

D. OTHER INHABITED OBJECTS

1. Vessam:
Vessam, a moon of Hiris, is essentially one large startown. Although the starport and structures are maintained by Vessam Ltd., the administrators are very tolerable of weapons and conduct. The only "crimes" are harming/failing to heed Administrative personnel and harming the habitat - but retribution is swift and final. A small corporate liaison office handles commercial disputes and bureaucratic matters. Fees are light, as Vessam is being promoted as a better stop than Edenelt for transient merchants – and traffic volume has increased, especially since it lies beyond Zeta Scuti’s jump limit.
Orbital Period (around Hiris) 3.667 days
Surface Pressure n/a
Surface Temperature 44.902 deg. K
Surface Gravity 0.1e
Diameter 3,600 miles
Mass 0.022e
Density 1.3
Hydrographics 0%
Population 50,000
TL10
Control Rating 1

2. Phylax:
Phylax is a large plutino in orbital resonance with Brisingamen. All Xboat traffic is routed here before entering the inner system. It is only populated by IISS personnel; visitors are politely directed to Vessam or Edenelt proper.
Orbital Period 48.155 years
Surface Pressure n/a
Surface Temperature 41.673 deg. K
Surface Gravity 0.1e
Diameter 3,300 miles
Mass 0.017e
Density 1.3
Hydrographics 0%
Population 25
TL11
Control Rating 2

E. STARPORTS

1. Cuvier Highport:
The largest port in the system is in Edenelt's fourth Lagrange point (the fifth contains a "tank farm," where unrefined fuel is brought from Lusorga for processing). Rated P/V-8, the majority of transient traffic does business here. There are extensive LASH operations within the Zeta Scuti system, owing to Edenelt’s proximity to its star. A stream of tankers, chandlers, bumboats, and lighter tenders flits between Cuvier and the system’s jump approaches.

Weekly Cargo Freight = 4M dtons transient, 2.097M dtons system
Weekly Passengers = 50K transient, 14K system

2. Edenelt Downports:
Because of Edenelt's new environmental policies, traffic to the surface has become increasingly frustrating for transient trade. The bulk of trade directly with the surface goes to Vessam and habitats in the planetoid belts.

Weekly Cargo Freight = 415K dtons transient, 3M dtons system
Weekly Passengers = 5190 transient, 10K system

3. Vessam Corporate:
Fifty years ago, this port was generously rated a II, frequented only by prospectors in the planetoid belts. In 1110 a subsector consortium began investing on Vessam's facilities to create a viable alternative to doing business directly with Edenelt. Paranoid voices in the Directory insist that the Lord Marshall is behind it all.

Weekly Cargo Freight = 683K dtons transient, 2M dtons system
Weekly Passengers = 800 transient, 10K system

4. Phylax:
Phylax' port services the Xboats and tenders that regularly visit the system. Passenger traffic consists of Xboat pilots, IISS maintenance personnel and their families. The facilities are above-average Imperial tech, but the miniscule volume of traffic earns the port a II rating.

Weekly Cargo Freight = none
Weekly Passengers = 10

TRADE

Edenelt has reaped immense riches from its location on a main route into the Glisten subsector (especially with traders dumping merchandise illegal on Ffudn) and the Rimward portion of Trin's Veil. Foodstuffs were the largest import until shortly after the revolution; slowly the system is becoming self-sufficient in that respect. Most exported resources come from the carbonaceous planetoid belt between Hiris and Brisingamen.

World	Trade Routes	BTN	Revenue/Yr	Cargo/Yr	Passengers/Yr
Burston	Minor	8	445KCr	21K dtons	854
Conway	Minor	8	915KCr	20K dtons	635
Ffudn	Major	12	1TCr	552M dtons	2.3 M
Katrulu	Major; Xboat	11	227GCr	36M dtons	1.5 M
Squanine	Feeder; Xboat	9	3GCr	272K dtons	5K
Traltha	Feeder	9	5GCr	461K dtons	7K
Tussinian	Major	11	495GCr	21M dtons	684K
			1.731GCr	609M dtons	4.497M

These figures are for system trade; see Starport entries for specific weekly numbers.

HISTORY

If there were any human visitors to Edenelt before -400 their presence has gone unrecorded. The first permanent residents to reach Edenelt were Solomani migrants, the bulk of whom continued spinward-coreward to found the Sword Worlds. Scouts from Cleon's young Imperium reached Edenelt soon after Holiday Year, as it lies only a few parsecs from Trin. With Xboat and trade routes reaching ever spinward, mining and heavy industry prospered on Edenelt. As easily-reachable ore deposits were depleted, successive waves of prospecters ventured into the planetoid belts to sustain the economy.

This period of continual industrialization was also designed to aggravate Edenelt's greenhouse effect, making surface temperatures more liveable. While temperatures steadily increased during this time, the full extent of ecolgical degradation was not apparent until recently. Acid rain, loss of genetic diversity, groundwater contamination and excess heat became tangible problems on Edenelt. Current research indicates that increasing temperatures may be slowed, but stabilizing or reversing the trend is beyond the abilities of current technology.

The Fourth Frontier War brought economic devastation on top of the environmental crises. Shipyards were unprepared for the disruptions in production cycles, and millions were laid off. In turn, planetside banks went under when the yards defaulted on loans. Exacerbated by an era of unprecedented volcanic eruptions and coriolis storms, millions more fled the system for calmer worlds.

Those that stayed blamed the crises on the current leadership. Although he could not be blamed for natural disasters, the government policy of boosting the greenhouse effect certainly inflamed public opinion against him. When protests grew too large to manage, Lord Marshal Klement Vo resigned in 1109. He is currently in exile in Ffudn; many supporters have gone underground on Edenelt or migrated to Vessam. Many corporations hit hard by the new planetary policies have courted his support in resisting the change in business climate.

POLITICS

The orchestrators of the 1109 coup formed the Directory, a group of 73 scientists charged with "designing" a government that would preserve the goals of the revolution. Initially, all members were specialists in environmental sciences, but as the group's mandate grew, need arose for experts in other fields, notably social sciences. The Directory's bylaws provide that expansion must increase total membership to the next prime number, to avoid deadlock (since current membership is 97, the next expansion will bring the total to 103). New members are selected from the candidate pool through cumulative voting. To be considered, a potential candidate must have advanced skill in their field of choice, and receive a nomination from a current Director.

Despite the Directory's goal of avoiding stagnation, even they are not immune from factionalism; there are several cliques of scientists that differ on matters of policy. The Radical bloc believes that drastic measures - nationalization of industry, large-scale eco-forming - are necessary to return Edenelt to a more pristine state. They are the smallest and least influential group. Traditionalists, who comprise the largest faction, are content to preserve the status quo and slowly improve the environment. Market Reformers wish to ensure continued, but monitored, economic development with an emphasis on the market as prime mover. Transformers wish to improve on Edenelt's baseline with immense projects like inducing rotation and capturing planetoids and moons for exploit. Both Market Reformers and Transformers are willing to deal with off-planet megacorporations to further their aims.

Because of the previous government's policy of secrecy, the Directory has tried to promote freedom of information, eagerly releasing hearing transcripts, committee minutes, and administrative regulations. The amount of information generated prompts accusations that Edenelt's rulers are attempting to hide behind a mountain of data. On the other hand, critics are quick to mention the absence of certain information: the extent of the previous government's intelligence and black budget assets, the purpose and ongoing use of that administration's "research stations" in Lagrange-1 and -2, and the refusal to comment on rumors of a theft of weapons from a Directory warehouse.

There are many groups who desire to see the Marshall reinstated as Edenelt's ruler. Although those corporations whose assets were nationalized or shut down were compensated, they have lost the income stream from these properties and a large market of consumers. It is no secret that they actively court Vo, who still desires to play a part in Edenelt's future. The fact that most of the populace is unarmed makes the possibility of mercenary activity real, both for Edenelt's defenders and those who would reverse the Directory's changes.

MILITARY

Edenelt’s defense forces are in a state of disarray. The combination of political upheaval has not meshed well with the citizens’ pacifistic tendencies. Currently the planet can field 12 brigades of TL11 Armor (5 batallions each), and 2 corps of TL10 Infantry (100 batallions each). The Directory Guards consists of 15 batallions of TL11 Elite Infantry, used primarily for guarding government installations. The Security Force is responsible for (half-hearted) intelligence ops. It has 3 batallions of TL12 Elite Infantry, armed with equipment scavenged from Marshal Vo’s caches. The planetary budget calls for 10 corps of infantry and 4 corps of armor reserves; no one is sure how well the Directory could muster these forces if the need arose. Therefore, most observers speculate that mercenaries are an important part of the government’s long-term contingency plans.

Vessam has no armed forces, but the Port Administration Police are well-equipped.

Most citizens of the Zeta Scuti system believe that Vo has at least some intelligence elements in place on Edenelt, and no one doubts that his clandestine supporters would join in any insurrection he heads. While the Control Rating is high on the planet, most citizens would vehemently resist state intrusions in the name of enforcing weapons laws.

DESIGN NOTES

Last update: July 6, 2001

Most information is presented in GURPS terms.

I have relied on Terry Mixon's Spinward Marches Trade Routes and Anthony Jackson's Economic Data for some of the material contained in this webpage. Any mistakes resulting from the use of data recorded there are mine alone.

With three planetoid belts and 4 gas giants orbiting a dinky M7 primary, I was strapped for orbital space. Those who do not consider Kuiper belts as proper planetoid belts, forgive me.

There are three discrepancies betwen the CT statistics and GT:BTC statistics for Edenelt. The population multiplier has decreased to 7, representing (I submit) the upheavals since the CT stats were recorded, and the fact that the CT census included total system population. Also the severity of government and law levels have lessened. A charismatic oligarchy now rules in place of an uncharismatic dictator, and a simple ban on weapons has supplanted paramilitary law enforcement as a means of controlling the populace. The UPP reflecting 1120 data is A-4638CA-B with a PGB of 734.

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