Kanon
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Kanon (pronounced /'Kænɔn/) is a major state of the Expanse and a founding member of the Zodiac Outworld Colonies Union. Its official name changes depending on the title held by its Supreme Elector, such as Principality of Kanon if she is a Great Princess as has been true since the end of the war or Duchy of Kanon as it was during the conflict. It is a constitutional elective monarchy with a stratified social system favouring an established class of transgene nobility. There are no political parties in the ordinary sense nor an effective Separation of Powers. Instead, the noble transgene lineages able and inclined to participate in governance negotiate and maneuver with each other in the interest of their dynasties, assets, supporters, and initiatives. The Supreme Elector is elected from among the upper ranks as a figurehead position who also represents Kanon legally in the capacity of Head of State and Government.
Due to its experiences during the ZOCU War, which involved repelling an almost year long terrestrial invasion by Japanese and Korean troops, Kanon's foreign outlook falls firmly on the Hawk end of the Zodiac Outworld Colonies Union's Hawk-Dove sliding scale mixed with a strong sense of transgene superiority and interstellar colonial independence. Most recently Kanon has also taken the rotating leadership seat in the Zodiac General Council on a platform of membership expansion and promotion of colonial independence whilst limiting the union's intereference in issues besides defence in order to accomodating the already large spectrum of political ideologies within ZOCU.
Domestically, the transgene nobility dominate every position of power, authority and economic importance on Kanon. Despite frequent accusations by the UN for lack of democracy and violation of human rights however, Kanon is generally regarded as stable, secure, and developed. The Kanonian economy is strong and diverse, with high tech research, Theta dust reserves, transgenics, weapons and finance being among the key areas. Kanon is also a cultural and educational leader, having the largest value of media exports in the Expanse and several renowned institutions of learning that attract transgene students from throughout the region.
Climate and Geography
Kanon and its sister world Air are the second planets from Key 130, a G6V star somewhat smaller, cooler and older than Sol. The barycenter of this system ranges from approximately 0.85 to 0.87 AU distant, or approximately halfway between Venus and Earth. Being less massive than Earth, Kanon's surface gravity is noticeably lighter whereas the atmosphere is somewhat more dense, with high oxygen content and sea level barometric pressure comparable to Earth's Dead Sea. Visitors from most other worlds, including Earth, tend to find Kanonian conditions (weather aside) generally agreeable and invigorating. Stays on Kanon are associated with improved short term health.
Presently, the climate is in a hothouse state and most likely has been for the past five hundred million years. Snow and glaciers are rare, being restricted to only a few areas; no ice caps form over the ocean at either pole. Most places experience a moist temperate to subtropical climate, with tropics along the equatorial coasts (no landmass actually lies over the equator itself). The year is about ten months long and seasons are regarded as wet or dry rather than warm or cold through much of the planet. There are few deserts, though there are several significant ranges of mountains. Forest, rainforest and wetlands are the predominant ecosystems on land. The large mass and proximity of Air causes tides of nearly a hundred meters in some areas. Tidal wetlands (of a very different sort than on Earth) are a distinct biome of Kanon, as are tidal forests, flying reefs and a variety of other areas where life has adapted to large, regular changes in coastline and high levels of erosion.
Overall, Kanon has over 111 million square km of surface land area - a little over twice the area of Eurasia - with additional areas exposed intermittently. There are three continents: Chrysanthemum Europe, Lotus Asia, and Orchis Oceania. Only Chrysanthemum Europe, a northern hemisphere continent roughly the size of Africa, is developed. The primary settlements of Kanon are located in various areas near the west coast. Lotus Asia is by far the largest continent and extends across the southern hemisphere. Rose Oceania is a remote, mostly northern hemisphere archipelago with the vast majority of its shelf below sea level.
Biointegrity
The Asakuran biosphere developed indigenously on Kanon prior to human arrival. Fellow ZOCU world Heaven's Shore shares a divergent version of this biosphere through Precursor seedng. Named for Dr. Nao Asakura, who published the first extensive papers in the 2080's, Asakuran biology is remarkably close to Terran life - close enough that efforts to prevent microbial contamination by the Terran biosphere (and theoretically vice versa) are impossible. A human can subsist almost entirely on the Asakuran biome, requiring only supplements for a few complex essential nutrients not shared by Kanonian life. Many other Terran life forms have no difficulty colonising Asakuran worlds from a biological standpoint and depend on artificial isolation or the ability of local ecosystems to keep them under control. Generally speaking, more forms of Terran life than not have trouble flourishing on Kanon due to competition where the comparatively older ecosystem has had more time to develop varied survival techniques, but many get by through unexpected symbiosis or toxin interactions. Kanon, like many other worlds with indigenous ecosystems, imposes restrictions on imports to minimise the possibility of runaway contamination. The Asakura Institute of Ecology and Agriculture is a massive arcological complex dedicated to research and testing of candidates for naturalisation in the Kanonian biosphere. Since colonisation, hundreds of species deemed sustainable and non-invasive have been safely introduced to Kanon.
Flora and Fauna
Several divergent branches of Kanonian plant dominant different niches of the biosphere. They include analogues of virtually all of the evolutionary breakthroughs experienced by Terran plants as well as several that are alien to Earth. These include a large change to wood and trunk structure that allows the largest Kanonian trees to be measured in hundreds of meters rather than hundreds of feet in height, commonplace rapid plant movement, chemical processes that greatly increase rate of growth, and numerous other developments. A large number of distinct divisions coexist throughout Kanon's surface, quite unlike Earth, which is almost entirely angiosperm with stretches of boreal forst.
Low gravity, high oxygen availability and superior circulation systems give arthropod analogues a much larger maximum size than Terran ones. Elephant sized crabs roam the tidal marshes and the largest shelled molluscs are safe from even the largest fish and all but the largest aquatic avians. Highly alkaline seawater and novel chemical processes allow large scale reef building and (exo)skeletal crystallisation. There are a variety of coral analogues, including an actively mobile division as well a branch of tree corals in the massive tidal zones that use symbiotic algae for photosynthesis.
Terrestrial fauna is dominated by pseudo-avians (highly analogous to later dinosaurs), which grow as large as the largest mammals in Earth's prehistory. Six limbs is the norm for higher orders of Asakuran life. Most that fly do so with a single pair of wings, reserving four limbs for other purposes, though there are basal lineages still extant with four wings or six wings. Having no fear of humans except for their strangeness, Kanonian megafauna can be quite aggressive and highly dangerous to unarmed humans, but is not so dangerous as to seriously impede the development of civilisation. Due to the lack of natural deserts or barren areas, most Kanonian animals find the new human cities too difficult to adjust to; human habitation generally overlaps with enclaves of imported Terran life.
System Astrography
Key 130 is a G6V yellow dwarf somewhat smaller, cooler and older than Sol. It is located along the PACT arm of the Sphere; the interstellar catapult path reached it in 2180. It is a fairly stable and inactive star, not prone to sudden outbursts or violent phenomena.
Shana (I) is the innermost planet, a hazy, reddish-gold terrestrial world. It orbits at 0.43 AU and masses about 0.285 Earths. Shana has a thick atmosphere with a surface pressure of about an MPa and a runaway greenhouse effect that renders the world quite similar to Venus. This hostile environment makes it a comparatively uninteresting object. Its vicinity is occupied by autonomous scientific and military satellites only.
Air (IIb) is Kanon's enormous water moon (more accurately sister planet) whose presence causes dramatic tides and a very well lit natural night sky compared to Earth's. Although surface conditions are unpleasant to unprotected humans, Air has a breathable atmosphere, liquid surface water, and a biosphere dominated by algaes whose colorful cycles give the ocean moon repute as a natural wonder of galactic standing.
0 Little Buster is a co-orbital quasi moon of the Kanon-Air system, an oblong rock roughly 6km long. It appears from Kanon's perspective to follow a very erratic path around the planet in a 1:1 resonance with the annual orbit. The entirety of space around it was designated the eleventh S-Class Security Area following the war.
Saint's Ring is a tight debris ring located at around 1.3 AU from the sun. It was a militarily significant feature of the system during the ZOCU War. Although the Kanonian Celestial Militia initially considered it too close to the PACT fleet presence around Kanon, ZOCU space reinforcements from October onwards steadily pushed back the PACT fleet's perimeter, eventually allowing Union forces to operate directly from bases in the area.
Nagi (III) is a terrestrial planet that appears white-blue-violet due to its thick atmosphere - like Shana, it is also about an mPa at the surface and so is something of a cool Venus. It is almost exactly an Earth mass and orbits at about 2.14 AU. Although the mineral and chemical resources of Nagi are believed to be economically significant if exploited, the vast untapped potential still on Kanon has left commercial interest in Nagi to the future.
Aria (IV) is a light pink to rose gas giant. It is about 80 Earth masses, making it somewhat smaller than Saturn, and orbits at 3.86 AU. Its proximity and significant gravitational presence keeps the inner system mostly safe from what would otherwise be catastrophic bombardment from the Robe. Although not a "hot jupiter" type world, Aria is fairly close to its sun and has comparatively benign magnetic and radiation fields, making it a good source of Helium-3.
The Robe is a huge debris disk with an inner edge at around 7.3 AU and extends way out. Its collective mass is up to three orders of magnitude greater than that of the Kuiper Belt and has a density sufficient to be nearly visible from Kanon itself. There are many objects of significant mass and large potential mineral reserves. During the PACT invasion, much of the KCM hid within the Robe to await their chance for action.
History
The Principality of Kanon is a ZOCU power founded in the 2080's by an alliance of corporate foundations ruled and owned by a newly established class of enormously powerful and wealthy transgene dynasties. Although initially guised as an economic venture, the Kanon mission's true nature became increasingly obvious as repeated appeals for immigration rights, improved baseline employee relations (and participation) and accelerated development of the highly desireable world were vetoed one after another by the executive council: the new "colony", was first and foremost a jointly owned private resort. The gene-based qualifications for settlement in this extrasolar gated community also quickly became evident. As Norio Saitama, CEO of Saitama Industrial Zaibatsu and future first Supreme Elector of Kanon remarked with unusual political bellicosity "...baselines will be as welcome on Kanon as transgenes are on Earth." As a result of legal manipulation, disincentive, and outright discrimination, Kanon's population grew quite slowly in the first years and dominantly consisted of high quality first generation transgenes and their even more enhanced second and third generation descendants. To this day, Kanon's immigration policies remain relatively stringent and are widely regarded as being purely an economical convenience.
Few who saw Kanon for what it was were pleased by the appropriation of prime extrasolar real estate for entirely private and fundamentally selfish concerns. Despite outcries by everyone from the scientific community to legislators to international activist groups however, the transgene-run conglomerates had simply amassed too much wealth and power during the preceding decades. They simply mired political and legal proceedings in delays and bureaucracy for the better part of a century while carrying on a gradual campaign of divestment from Earth. The transplantation of high level operations, capital and a few key foundation industries to the heavily privatised colony had significant negative impacts to the economies of their host nations on Earth, but also had great short and medium term impact on the corporations themselves. This great exodus became an ongoing, decades long political and financial issue, gradually drawing attention and support from the ostracized transgene community even as it drew grassroots ire from everyone else. Once in the Expanse, the much greater isolation of outer space made further interference a much more difficult prospect and the establishment of a virtually autonomous haven for the rich and enhanced was clearly already in mind. During this time, many "gene newbies" were able to use Kanon to get around increasingly heavy restrictions on genetic manipulation coming into force on Earth and in the Core. Both Kanon's leaders and those they termed "transgene progressive" baselines quickly realised this arrangement was beneficial to them for different reasons; Kanon did need a lower class - preferably one that was educated, motivated, yet willing to work cheaply - to fill the gap between industrial robotics and transgenes that wanted upper-middle class lifestyles and a move as quickly as possible to four day work weeks; meanwhile, some baselines still wanted transgene futures for their kids. Kanon quickly adjusted policies and filled its quota of immigrants year after year with such "permanent residents" with the prospect of full citizenship and transgenic enhancement for their children born on Kanon.
The Breakdown represented a massive economic crash for the relocated elite as they lost touch with their assets on Earth, especially the vast bulk of their physical infrastructure holdings. It also provided a pair of completely unexpected opportunities. Kanon's large Theta dust reserves suddenly became a priceless resource, giving Kanon a great strategic advantage as conventional D Drive ships wallowed uselessly in the grip of the virus. Given Kanon's already independent minded population however, the loss of regular contact with the Core was an even greater boon, prompting the executive council to immediately elevate their ambitions to full statehood. With a low labor agricultural sector already in net export, significant high tech sectors already in place and self-sufficiency inherent the long term plan, Kanon was better equipped than most worlds to stand alone. Once the immediate economic gremlins were shaken off and vital missing industries and infrastructure established, Kanon asserted independence and joined Londenium and other states of the Expanse to form the Zodiac Outworld Colonies Union. A constitution detailing the grades of transgene nobility was established, and the system of intergenerational social mobility put into place. Although initially a smaller player than Londenium, Kanon grew rapidly in importance over the decades, involving itself in the Union defence of Nidaros and eventually formed a part of the ZOCU expeditionary forces sent to the League to assist in their own fight against the Magnates.
The biggest long term crisis turned out to be a transgene population boom that could not, in the Breakdown years, be effectively answered by baseline immigration. By the time of the reconnect 27 years later, Kanon was facing an aging and shrinking baseline workforce already beginning to be supported by their transgene children. General economic downturn during the last years threatened to turn into depression. Demand for low level labor was high and some transgenes found themselves drawn to those jobs, translating such frustrations into pressure for immigration to resume as soon as possible. In the immediate aftermath of the reconnect, the Core engaged with Kanon with unease but not necessarily hostility largely because of willingness to grant settlement visas to several immediate cohorts of immigrants. Granted, these were screened immigrants and not the refugees the UN badly needed to foist off to someone but the move was nevertheless seen as tacit admission by Kanon's annointed "nobility" that they could not exist without the Core. Among the many early signs of normalisation was the completion of the Kanon cut of the PACT catapult arm. Also important was the pragmatic "recognition of Kanon's individual success" during the Breakdown years. Economic and political issues, baseline equality, and the silly notion of independence could and would be worked out in time, or so Earth thought at first. In fact, Kanon took advantage of the fact that while domestic demand for immigration had grown, so had the supply of prospective permanent residents willing to see things Kanon's way. As the differences mounted and Kanon's ideas of its own future - one without regard for Earth and the home countries' wishes - became clear, relations quickly dove and the new UN missions that had been quietly tolerated became quasi-besieged enclaves. Tensions continued to rise through the 2180's culiminating in the ZOCU War which tore through the Sphere in the latter half of the decade.
The ZOCU War began with the Kanon campaign (Feb 14-Dec 10, 2185) which saw pan-PACT forces attempting without success to knock the key ZOCU world out of the conflict early. Against superior PACT forces, Duke Akira Sumeragi and other talented commanders developed a long and calculated defence, bogging down the PACT offensive and straining their logistical capabilities. The success of Flight of the Bamboo Cutter, the operation to run the designs and prototypes of the OMF-06 Hoplite in April, and the EU Deep Space Fleet's defeat at Londenium in August proved to be enormous strategic setbacks for the Core. By December, Kanon had captured over 70,000 PACT prisoners of war and enemy forces had been driven from the system. Thereafter, Kanon continued to be a vital pillar of the Union throughout the conflict both as the primary research and development center for mobile weapons and as an important producer of Theta dust and mobile suits. The Kanonian Militia was also heavily engaged as a combatant in the PACT theatre, engaging enemy forces at Choson, Suzumiya, and in space. A large contingent of Kanonian forces was part of the pan-ZOCU fleet mustered for the Battle of Haraway which brought the ZOCU War to an end.
Although the war left ZOCU militarily crippled and largely in debt, Kanon's economy and influence has managed to rebound significantly, emerging from the war as one of the Union's clear leaders. Now in possession of ZOCU's rotating leadership chair, Kanon has begun pursuing a variety of peacetime initiatives along a compromising middle road between the hawk and dove factions of the Union. Primary concerns in the 2190's have included restoring member worlds' economic integrity, ensure the Union's ability to defend itself, addressing security concerns, and supporting the ideology of colonial independence in the Expanse.
Politics
Kanon is non-democratic. Direct participation in government decision-making is limited to a small class of genetically and financially advanced nobility. This system excludes baselines as well as most transgenes and earns Kanon much censure in the democratic Core. Kanonians on the other hand, consider the system to make sense: the ancient assumptions of nobility running in the blood are now scientific facts and genetic modification of children is now a natural pathway of intergenerational social mobility. Kanon imports immigrants to operate the lower strata of society and in turn these immigrants fund the genetic upgrades of their children who move upwards generation by generation. In turn the nobility are expected (both by their peers and subordinates) to exercise reasonable discipline and noblesse oblige. Economic and cultural prosperity and local democracy also reinforce the legitimacy of the noble class.
Under the 2156 Constitution, all members of the noble class have a voice in the governance of Kanon and in matters relating to their interests. This right takes the form of membership in the Estate-General, defined as the collective body of nobility. Communication and debate at this level is undertaken on a restricted access network. Of course, anyone caring to poke around can find most of the things on this network mirrored on the general network in almost real time and the official transcripts are also soon made available to the public. Most members of the Estate-General are minor nobility - counts and dukes tend to intrigue in other settings. Because nobility is granted for life, many older members are of genetic templates that would not qualify for nobility were they born today. A significant portion of the population are relations of minor lords who are commoners.
Supreme Elector
At its highest level is an oligarchy which rules partly by consensus and partly by competitive politick. A Supreme Elector is selected by the Electoral Circle among their own number to represent Kanon legally as a head of state and government. This selection is usually on the basis of charisma, political acceptability, and the ability function as a face or initiator of Circle discussion rather than personal political assets. The paramount leader is elected for only a single Kanonian year, which is shorter than a standard Earth year. By custom however, an incumbent leader can expect to serve multiple terms. The paramount leader is usually a junior Prince or Princess from a ducal lineage - it is generally thought of as a non-beneficial post to the career of an established politician or administrator.
Genetics
Ducal Lineages
A Class-A lineage is considered a ducal lineage. The Duke or Duchess of a lineage is generally tied for its least genetically advanced member at any given time but would normally be in control of the family's considerable assets. In some families, a custom of peaceful early retirement has become semi-established. Ducal lineages have deeply entrenched power and financial depth and generally direct political policy to keep it that way. Notably, even with the disruption of the ZOCU War, no ducal lineage has lost its status, though some have risen or fallen significantly in fortunes. Most of these families are the oldest on the planet with ancestors who were already upper class, possibly before they were transgenes on Earth.
Comital Lineages
A Class-B lineage is considered a comital lineage. In general, Counts are nobility and can expect to influence policy to a fair capacity. Their power and wealth are more limited than Dukes, but the actual quality of their genetic templates can be comparable. Most of these families have founders who were upper-middle class transgenes from Earth with a few among the very first baseline immigrants from well before the Breakdown.
Lord
A Class-C transgene is a non-lineage rank - that is the genetic template, though high quality, has mostly off-the-shelf features. Nevertheless, they are generally very high quality multi-generational transgenes. Citizens with the right to be addressed as 'Lord' are a minority in society and generally lead very comfortable upper or upper-middle class lifestyles. They are regarded as nobility have a voice in government, though individually a small one.
Commoner/Citizen
A Class-D transgene encompassing a range of commonly available upgrades. The attraction of Kanon to immigrants is that their children can expect this level of enhancement with hopes of seeing noble grandchildren.
Permanent Resident
Knight
A knight is a military transgene. This is generally not as popular upgrade as it does not provide the career and political advantages of having more balanced transgene offspring who eventually almost match knight class upgrades in their specialties anyhow. Moreover, the brightest commanders and officers are, obviously, mainstream nobility. However, it does have the advantage of government subsidy. Knights have their own classifications ranking from Level 1 through 4 in ascending order of potency. The title is heritable within the military career - the genetically pure descendent of a knight is also a knight if he or she enlists.
Branch Families
Breaking new ground in transgenics is expensive and difficult and generally pay-by-the-child. Once a transgene line is established however, further members of the same template on the next generation is (with some odd exceptions) as simple as having children. Family branching is a controverisal strategy that is sometimes formalised among upper class families - the designated leaders are enhanced or updated concurrently with supporting family members who are "mass produced" on the same generational template as their parents. This practice reared its ugly head in the media in 2190 when Kanako Reizei Kuga, branch member of the Kuga family took the lives of four half siblings of the main family in a mass murder believed to stem from intra-clan conflict. The Kuga lineage stated it would cease the practice.
Military
Main article: Kanonian Military Equipment
The responsibility for the maintenance of order and the armed defence of Kanon rests with the Kanonian Gendarmerie. Although nominally a single organisation, the command of the Gendarmerie is anything but unified considering the variety of interests entangled with it. Despite the experience of the PACT invasion that clearly demonstrated the necessity of unity and organisation, the KG continues with its tradition of tending towards decentralisation. The basic unit capable of independent operation within the KG is the legion, an organisation analogous to a battalion with independent training, funding, and to some extent, loyalties.
Key Locations
Hourai Island is a site within the upper tidal area of Seihou harbor, being an island during high tide. Its bedrock is lined with tidal bore caves, some of which have been sealed over the past century. The island lies within Syene district anti-aerospace umbrella and was heavily refortified during the PACT invasion of the world. It is presently one of Kanon's eleven designated S-Class Security Areas. Although the Kanonian regime never acknowledges or denies the site, it is now widely believed to be the site of sensitive research and Theta dust production facilities. Kanon is ZOCU's largest producer of Theta dust within ZOCU, accounting for over half the Union's reserves in this strategic resource and fluctuations in this supply correlate well with observations of activity on Hourai Island.