Ideally the DDA should have taken this into account at the start, and at the very least limited the companies exploiting the Dorados to those from African-ethnic star systems. In view of the inescapable conflict that will arise in one or two generations’ time, it would be fair to say that the plight of the Garissa survivors is not entirely over.
Economy
Naturally this is centered on producing and exporting astroengineering alloys, but basic material production is increasingly being complemented with component manufacturing, as companies invest in more sophisticated industrial stations. It is DDA policy that within ten years the Dorados will have the capacity to produce entire mining and refining stations in-system. After that they hope to build swiftly towards indigenous ZTT starship production. Most of the major multistellar companies have expressed a high degree of interest in the Dorados, and those who do not already have functioning industrial facilities there have at least got a local office. One of the largest investors in the system is the Kulu Corporation.
Transport also accounts for a large part of the economy. Inter-asteroid freight is a healthy business, with many local companies involved. Five major interstellar-line companies have port facilities in the Dorados, with their fleets supporting the bulk alloy export market. Other majors have included it on their schedules, providing regular flights out to most Confederation systems. Local spaceship companies are now starting to expand into the interstellar field, with considerable success.
Defense
With the entire output of the industrial stations marked for export, and the asteroid inhabitants providing a large market for imported food and luxury items, starship movements in and out of the system are considerable. This makes them prime targets for piracy.
Consequently, the largest single expenditure of the DDA is on defense. All the asteroids have extensive SD weapons platform networks, and the sensor network in both the local asteroid cluster and overall system coverage is first rate. A small squadron of combat-capable starships is kept on permanent patrol. Again because of the nationality issue, most of their crews are hired from outside. A large number of them are ex-Kulu Navy personnel.
Edenist Habitats
The Edenist were enthusiastic supporters of the industrial development of the Dorado asteroids. So far, two Edenist habitats have been germinated in orbit around Duida. The first, Ramtheni, is twenty-eight years old and is now mature enough to support a 50,000-strong population, a number which is reaching the top limit for such a young habitat. The second habitat is Sehad, which was germinated in 2599; initial habitability maturation is expected there in 2622.
The Edenists have so far constructed one cloudscoop, which became operational in 2585. As reflects this system’s unique status, it is extremely unusual for the Edenists to begin construction of a cloudscoop before the local habitat is mature (normally no market for He3 in any quantity exists in a system for its first century). In order to get the cloudscoop built and operational, they had to live in artificial stations, which goes against the main thrust of their culture. However, the eventual rewards of large-scale He3 orders, to power the fusion generators in both industrial and mining stations of the Dorados, far outweighed any inconveniences meanwhile.
With the first habitat now matured, and the cloudscoop functional, the Edenists have been swift to participate in the Dorados’ industrial potential. There are over fifteen large industrial stations outside Ramtheni, and the Edenist groups have many joint-venture enterprises at the asteroids themselves.
Total Edenist population is 55,000, and a third habitat is planned for germination in 2615.
10. New California
New California is a terracompatible planet 130 light-years from Earth. It is an ethnic US Pacific-coast planet discovered in 2156, and opened for colonization in 2163. The initial development company funding was raised by the Californian State of Govcentral through a rights issue and loan guarantees.
Star System Physical Data
The New California star system has four solid planets, and three gas giants. There are three major asteroid belts. The star is a G5 type, known as Visalia.
There are four solid planets.
There are three gas giants.
The first asteroid belt, Lyll, orbits between New California and Salinas. The second asteroid belt, Piute, orbits between Santa Rosa and Yosemite. The third asteroid belt, Dana, orbits between Sacramento and Tehachapi. Both Lyll and Dana have several industrial settlements.
New California has fifty-three asteroids in orbit 150,000km above it, all moved into place from Lyll by nuclear explosions, and all now settled.
New California
Physical Data
There are four moons. Samoa and Orick are a binary pair.
New California’s year is 359 days long. The planet has a 0.97 standard gravity, planetary rotation is 24 hours 7 minutes, and axial inclination is 2.3°.
Its atmosphere is 76 percent nitrogen, 21 percent oxygen, 0.02 percent carbon dioxide. Pressure is standard.
Thirty-eight percent of its surface is land. There are six main continents, Kalmath, Medford, Fortuna, Shastad (arctic), Teham, and Alturas. A group of large islands, the Santa Crutz archipelago off the shore of Kalmath, is in a climate zone similar to the old California, and is heavily populated. The climate embraces a normal range, which provides a southern polar ice cap.
The capital is San Angeles, on Kalmuth’s coast, with a population of 5,700,000. The total planetary population is 890,000,000.
History
New California was settled during the Great Dispersal, and was the first planet to introduce an ethnic streaming policy, which caused some considerable controversy in the Govcentral senate at the time. However, as the early multicultural colonies were undergoing significant levels of civil unrest, and in two cases outright revolution, this screening process was eventually allowed to remain uncontested. After this, many individual Govcentral states followed suit in sponsoring their own ethnic-streaming colonies.
Originally only residents of the state of California were accepted for immigration, though this requirement has now been relaxed so that emigrants from any ethnic-compatible planet in the Confederation may apply. Immigration is now typically 35,000 people a year.
The planet is a democratic republic with a President, Senate, and Congress. Its constitution is modeled on the original American constitution, but with alterations: typically, the environmental protection clause which ensures against high-population clustering outside San Angeles (the planet pioneered asteroid metal mining and Falling Jumbo foamed lifting bodies (FJs), purely to avoid strip mining), and the
permitting of “weak” narcotics. But the right to carry arms was specifically excluded. The population is mainly Christian, though, due to California’s excessive numbers of spiritualist cults and evangelical missions, a number of fringe religions flourish. There is a strong constitutional proscription against Islam.
New California is one of the most successful planets colonized during the Great Dispersal period. It has a high standard of living and a strong economy. This is due mainly to the industry which was transferred from the old California, which was always a high-technology/ capitalist area. The crime rate is reasonably low, and public utility services and a socialized medical system are supported by all three major political parties.
Asteroid Settlements
There is a large population living in the fifty-three high-orbit industrial or mining asteroids above New California, all of which come under the planetary government’s administration. The system’s starship industry is centered here, and is supported by an above-average number of military contracts, both for the planetary navy and the Confederation Navy. Military exports to friendly systems receive good loan terms from the planetary government. A large number of commercial starships are built, along with industrial stations. The amount of metal delivered to the planet in the form of foamed-metal lifting bodies is prodigious (see History, page 199). Several of the ast
eroids are mined out already, so five more are currently being shifted into orbit.
Both the Lyll and Dana belts are populated. Lyll has 119 settled asteroids; Dana has 78. All of these are independent from the planetary government, though all are members of the system assembly. These independent settlements tend to concentrate on components, sub-units and maintenance rather than complete starships. Because of the high numbers of settlements and stations, commercial competition is fierce. This has led to some dubious exporting of items which could be used for military purposes, and the Confederation Assembly (acting on complaints from the navy) has censured this export policy on more than one occasion. However, with the system assembly dominated by representatives from Lyll and Dana, the policy is unlikely to be changed in the near future.
The independent asteroid settlement population is around 30,000,000.
Technology
New California is among the top ten Adamist developed systems, and is virtually self-sufficient in this respect. A recent blow to local astroengineering companies was the introduction of ion-field flyer technology from Kulu. New California previously exported a large number of conventional spaceplanes, but production of ion-field craft under license from the Kulu Corporation has now been negotiated by most of the major companies.
Trade
Its industrial capacity means the system is a major trading center, with a large number of both starship and inter-orbit ship movements every day. The number of asteroid settlements has led to the development of a big commercial fleet to supply their population with luxuries.
The system’s overall balance of payments has remained in the black for over a century.
Edenist Habitats
The Edenists have germinated thirty bitek habitats in orbit around Yosemite, to tend fifteen cloudscoops. There are a large number of industrial stations in operation at each habitat, and many joint venture enterprises have been formed with the asteroid settlements and New California companies.
The Edenist population is 50,000,000.
11. Srinagar
Star System Physical Data
The Srinagar star system has three solid planets and five gas giants. There is one asteroid belt. The star is a G2 type.
There are three solid planets.
There are five gas giants.
The asteroid belt orbits between Bomhus and Kohistan, and it has eighty-seven settlements. Srinagar has twelve industrialized asteroids in orbit, all moved into place by nuclear explosives. Both of Kohistan’s Trojan clusters have asteroid settlements.
Srinagar
Physical Data
There are three moons.
Srinagar’s year is 429 days long. The planet’s gravity is 1.18 standard, planetary rotation is 23 hours 8 minutes, axial inclination is 2°. Its atmosphere is 73 percent nitrogen, 24 percent oxygen. Pressure is 1.3 standard.
Forty-two percent of the surface is land. There are four main continents: Santal, Hazaribagh, Ranchi, and Sundargarth. A small island, Chamba, is arctic. The seas are populated with a number of large islands, too. The climate is generally drier than on most worlds, because of the smaller seas. The capital city is Chaibassa, on the west coast of Hazaribagh.
The principal orbiting asteroid is Dindori, which is Srinagar’s main naval base and the command center for the planetary SD network.
The total planetary population is 800,000,000.
History
Srinagar is a terracompatible, Hindu-ethnic world settled during the Great Dispersal, starting from 2178. It was funded by five Indian states, which still own considerable stock in various planetary enterprises. The planet is a democratic republic, although both main political parties are heavily religious. It is quite extensively industrialized, and has a slightly below-average standard of living. Political and financial scandals are commonplace, and politically motivated violence there is above average.
There is a national Senate, continental Parliaments, and strong regional Assemblies. Although technically capitalist oriented, a great many companies are state sponsored, or partially owned by the state, through local-government development councils. These companies tend to be essential to the local economic infrastructure, such as food-processing plants in agrarian regions, vehicle factories in cities, etc. The price of this social-economic policy is such that the companies tend to lack the efficiency levels of the pure-capitalist worlds such as New California. In compensation, Srinagar has a much lower unemployment level, and a job with a company is generally “for life.”
Healthcare is socialized, although the most sophisticated treatments are only available to paying customers in private clinics. Geneering is not available in government hospitals.
Technology
The twelve orbiting asteroids have a reasonable level of technological sophistication, and indigenous companies produce their own ZTT starships as well as other astronautics products. The civil astroengineering companies which capture and mine asteroids are all technologically self-sufficient; and capture-mission contracts are all tendered by indigenous companies. However, the electronics, nanonics, and cybernetics industries are not particularly strong, and the most advanced systems are nearly always built under license, notably from Edenist companies. It would also be true to say that all really advanced systems, such as those required by the navy, are produced by the Edenists or in conjunction with them.
The general level of technology in the Adamist sections of the star system is not as high as might be expected, nor is the economic output as high as in compatible Confederation worlds (i.e. those settled during the same period and with similar population levels). The principal reason for this is the star system’s social/religious structure (see Religion, below). Srinagar is simply not party to the straightforward capitalist expansion and progress ethic which dominates many Confederation cultures, so direct comparisons with them are unfair and somewhat pointless.
Exports and indigenous sales of spaceplanes have suffered considerably in recent years due to the Kulu ion-field flyer technology. Srinagar has yet to be granted a production license by Kulu, since the Kingdom is using its technology for political advantage and, as a Hindu-ethnic culture, Srinagar is not regarded as a primary ally by the Royal Saldanas. Overall balance of payments has alternated from black to red almost year by year, though it has now remained in the red for the last seven years.
Religion
The Hindu faith remains strong among all the system’s Adamists. In part this is due to the large percentage of the planetary population which lives a rural/agrarian existence (50 percent plus), with the Brahmans retaining a huge influence in tight-knit communities. The agricultural areas remain very traditionalist/conservative, and local voting patterns reflect this. Any liberal-ticket politicians are concentrated in the urban areas, and effectively marginalized. Basically, this is a society which changes very little, and those changes which do occur are slow to arrive. This situation is responsible for producing a large minority of political radicals urging change, their methods often including public protests and acts of violence or sabotage.
As always when the star system’s parent planet follows a somewhat orthodox doctrine, the asteroid settlements, inevitably technology orientated, do not adhere to this faith with the same level of devotion.
Edenist Habitats
The total Edenist population is 20,000,000. There are eighteen bitek habitats in orbit around Kohistan, supporting an He3 mining operation and numerous industrial stations. Again this relatively small number of habitats and population reflects the Srinagar system’s slower-than-average economic growth rate.
Ranchi
Roughly the size of Earth’s South America, the northern tip straddles the equator, but the bulk of the continent is situated in the southern hemisphere. It is divided into six large semi-arid plains separated by long mountain ranges, and there are some active volcanoes in the extreme east. One range of mountains (the highest) runs along the entire length of the north and west coasts, effectively haltin
g cloud movement into the interior. This mountain range produces a broad strip of coastline which has a moist semi-tropical climate all year round. It is the most heavily populated area of the continent, very pleasant to live in, with many resort towns and five cities, and it is extensively farmed.
The plains lying on the other side of the mountains are very different to that along the coast. A rainy season comes to them for six weeks in every year, sweeping in from the east. The rainfall is considerable, and flooding is a frequent problem. The plains have substantial underground water reserves, which have only been lightly tapped by the local inhabitants. Several dams have been built in the mountain ranges to provide manageable water resources.
These plains consist mainly of scrub bush, with few mineral resources. Their ecology is simple and basic, with a lower than average variety of plants and animal life, but the flora and fauna which have adapted to the plains are very sturdy.
The principal reason for settlement there is the bhasri crop. This is an aboriginal plant which grows to nearly 2m tall, and produces six to eight long pods which, when ripe, can be ground down into a protein-rich flour. Bhasri is an annual plant; triggered by the onset of the rains, it grows swiftly, and is ready to harvest just five weeks after the end of the rainy season.
The Confederation Handbook Page 15
