Minkowski
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Astrography
Mara
The fearsome black hole at the heart of the system is named Mara. Its attendant accretion disc sheds light comparable to the sun, along with a much larger quantity of high-energy radiation. The blazing disc, perpendicular jets and twinkling posthuman satellites were noted as one of the 'Seven Wonders of the Human Sphere' in the travel text of the same name.
Posthuman Structures
Many rings of elaborate diamondoid objects encircle the black hole and its jets. They are believed to be scientific instruments. One houses a research station that studies the structures and Mara itself, but many of the others are being dismantled for useful components that find their way into everything from FTL drives to lightweight shielded spacesuits.
Yama
Yama is a large rocky planet massing nine Earths.
Yami
Yami is a small icy planet massing one-third Earth.
Naraka
Naraka masses a mere 0.05 Jupiters and contains a high proportion of water vapour. It is orbited by the helium-mining colony Oneill.
Heaven's Stair
Minkowsky's primary asteroid belt, also known as 'Changcheng' or simply 'the Belt' lies between Naraka and Xibalba. The majority of the Minkowskan population lives here, in the major colony complexes Gagarin and Tereshkova.
Xibalba
Xibalba masses 2 Jupiters and contains a high proportion of methane.
Diyu
Diyu masses 0.5 Jupiters and is almost exclusively hydrogen and helium based. It is orbited by the helium-mining colony Einstein.
Physiology
Variations
Minkowskans Abroad
Popular solutions include light exoskeletons and mobile chairs. Minkowskans that spend a lot of time abroad often take to swimming.
Sociology
Economy
Shipyards, mining.
Culture
Airctopi and xenophobia.
Food
Meatball trees.
Clothing
Religion
Gravity is the destructive influence of the Adversary, only by abandoning it can our souls ascend to Heaven.
Heterodox Sects
Art and Literature
Politics
History
Provisional History Path:
A1: Longshot Mission
(+fabbers)
The followers of Minkowsky Transcendentalism, AKA 'Cavorites' or 'Spacer Cultists' vanished from Earth history in the 2070s.
A2: Dominantly Transgene OR Mixed
(+fabbers) or (+SP)
They were a motley crew of space-bound dreamers, true believers, and the poor or displaced, carrying a blend of expertise, faith and willing labour into the unknown.
A3: No Suitable World
They washed up in the system they christened Minkowsky. There wasn't much there beyond rocks and gas and gateways to hell. The former suited, the latter did not.
A4: Adapt
(radical morphological change)
In accordance with their beliefs they adapted to their environment, carefully testing each alteration as they went but eventually arriving at the slim, hairless homo caelum.
B1: Artifact Find
(+dust)
The Minkowskans, as they were now called, were not the first inhabitants of the system. The posthumans had been there before, and left uncountable unusual structures pointing into the black hole.
B4: Useful Finds
(+CIP)
Bitter about being dumped next to such a ghastly thing, the Minkowskans set upon the telescopes hungrily as soon as safe methods were developed. Components are now used for all kinds of applications, from sensor arrays to spacesuit shielding.
C1: Crisis Situation OR Military Action
(+stockpiles) or (+military)
Once contact was reestablished, the xenophobic religious establishment clashed with the more open elements of society over foreign investment into Minkowsky's command economy.
C2: Sudden Change of Government OR Shoot it Repeatedly OR Regime Changed
(+morale) or (+military) or (+military, +logistics, -morale)
A 'compromise' was brokered with ARROWS backing, that was actually mostly a win for the liberals as it sharply curtailed the power of the clergy and opened Minkowsky to foreign investment. Nevertheless, conditions improved.
D1: Broken-down
(+PIP)
Minkowsky's new economy, based on selling resources and manufacturing to the prosperous Core, did not survive the collapse of FTL travel.
D3: Become Energy Independent
(+helium, +dust)
The moment was siezed and the nation was saved by the visionary politician Rakesh Zhang. His National party blindsided the discredited Liberals and fundamentalist Conservatives to sieze control of the government. The governing philosophy was one of national sovereignty and strength, with enough religious overtones to capture much of the Conservative vote.
E1: Independence!
(++++tech, -shipbuilding)
Much as Zhang liked the Zodiac Union, it was politically impossible to join it given the xenophobic national discourse at the end of the Breakdown.
F1: Get Sirius
(+hangarize, +morale, +ZOCU relations, -Treaty of Sirius)
He died before the outbreak of the Space War, but his legacy and some clever Zodiac diplomacy made Minkowsky a co-belligerent of the colonies.
F2: The Tensor Building
(+dust, +CIP, +RP, +weapons tech)
The war effort turned Minkowsky's considerable astronautics expertise to the business of violence.
F3: The Fleet does the Flying OR Friends from ZOCU
(+military, +PIP, +fleet doctrines, +ship tech) or (+ground doctrines, +air doctrines, +mecha tech, +mega particle tech)
However they were never close enough to ZOCU to gain access to coveted megaparticle technology, and preferred a paradigm of potent warships rather than high-acceleration smallcraft. Alternatively, maybe they were close enough after all.
Totals
radical morphological change
+fabbers
+PIP
++CIP
+++dust
+helium
+morale
++++tech
+weapons tech
+hangarize
+RP
+ZOCU relations
-shipbuilding
-Treaty of Sirius
Options
+transhuman OR +SP
+stockpiles, +morale OR +stockpiles, +military OR ++military, +logistics, -morale
+military, +PIP, +fleet doctrines, +ship tech OR +ground doctrines, +air doctrines, +mecha tech, +mega particle tech