Ortelius System
We fought for the future, destroyed the invader,
and brought to our homeland the laurels of fame.
Our glory will live in the memory of nations
and all generations will honor her name.
- State Anthem of the USSR (1944)
The People's Democratic Republic of Galicia-Himyar
The People's Democratic Republic of Galicia-Himyar is presently the dominant power in the remote Ortelius Star System following its victory over the forces of the Renaissance Movement during the Third Space War. It is a technologically advanced and highly centralized socialist human state governed by the Workers' Party of Isbanir from their capital at Bernartice in central Galicia. Over seventy-five percent of Isbanir's surface land area is directly administered by the People's Republic, with most of the rest under the control of various allied client states. Galicia-Himyar also controls nearly all of the various offworld and orbital colonies, as well as access to the surface of the mausoleum world Marzanna.
Galicia-Himyar is one of the oldest countries on Isbanir, formed around 500 NE by the union of two of the backwards kingdoms that arose out of the savage centuries following the Great Exigency and the destruction of the Old Culture. The old monarchy was overthrown during the Revolutions of 1892 NE, and after considerable turmoil and conflict eventually replaced with the early incarnation of the present socialist government. After two inconclusive wars against a Rightest coalition led by Galicia-Himyar's perpetual rival Bukovina, an uneasy peace settled over the world for much of the following century.
In early 1962 NE the status quo was broken when an early Bukovinan space probe confirmed the existence of the mythical Counter Isbanir, a planet orbiting on the far side of Ortelius from Isbanir. While only a few fragments of the Old Culture's technology had survived on Isbanir, grainy photos transmitted back from suggested that considerable amounts of debris and artifacts remained in orbit of newly discovered Marzanna and it was suspected that more remained under its cloudy atmosphere. The People's Republic and Bukovinia fought the First and Second Space Wars before the first Bukovinian Astronaut landed on Marzanna in 2002 NE, followed by a Galician expedition a year later.
The Marzanna Race brought about an era of considerable technological advancement for both great powers even without the small number of useful artifacts eventually recovered from Marzanna orbit and its radiation storm ravaged surface. New developments in robotics and automation combined with early developments in asteroid mining promised to make deliver previously unimaginable prosperity to the People's Republic's centrally planned economy. But darker changes came to the Bukovinian sphere of influence, with the rise of the Renaissance Movement. Gaining considerable influence in the Rightest governments, the Renaissance pushed forward with radical experiments in human genetic modification and cybernetic augmentation, the development of ESP for military purposes, and creeping eugenics programs; all for the future prosperity of humanity. It was whispered both in Bukovinia and elsewhere that this had all begun with the recovery of something terrible by one of the Marzanna expeditions. Everyone braced for another war.
In 2038 NE, the Bukovinian Coalition struck with all of its considerable strength. Psychic weapons, cybernetic supersoldiers, and massive war machines all inflicted terrible damage on Galicia-Himyar and its allies. The People's Republic alone lost nearly a million soldiers in the first two months of the war. Though early anti-nuclear defense systems prevented an atomic catastrophe, both sides lashed out at each other's population centers with conventional strategic bombing, long range missile attacks, biological and chemical weapons. The war turned into a stalemate as Galician forces held the line by sheer stubborn determination as countermeasures against the enemy's technological advantages were developed.
After nearly four decades of fighting, Galician forces eventually pushed deep into Coalition territory and drove the Renaissance from war-torn Isbanir. They fought on for another decade with increasingly suicidal zeal before Allied troops destroyed their last strongholds scattered around the system and power-armored cosmonauts stormed their final headquarters on Marzanna itself. The Sixty Years War had brought humanity in Ortelius to the brink of ruin for the second time since the Great Exigency. The victors were left to rebuild and prevent a third such catastrophe.
Reconstruction began shortly after the elimination of the last major Renaissance holdouts, as resources could at last be turned from the war effort back toward civilian projects. Cities were built anew, refugees resettled, orbital and deep space infrastructure was greatly expanded. Order was restored to the many lawless regions that had developed with the wartime collapse of many smaller national governments, and the partition of occupied Bukovinia was confirmed. There were few real challenges to the new order, what local partisan resistance did arise was no match for the military power that had won the Third Space War.
By the present date of 2183 NE, the visible scars of the war have almost entirely vanished and the People's Republic has for the past few decades enjoyed the fruits of a new golden age of peace and prosperity. But contact with outside powers has brought about new concerns about what new enemies might wait out in the wider universe. For now, Galicia's authorities quietly make preparations and gather information.
System Information
- Workers' Party of Isbanir
- Although elections are held and a number of other sanctioned opposition parties are now tolerated, there's still no question that the WPI remains the unchallenged main political force in the Ortelius System. The current incarnation of the party is somewhat more relaxed than it was during the war years, but it continues to keep a careful eye on dissidents and malcontents.
- Isbanir
- Having largely recovered from the Sixty Years War, Isbanir is a pleasant temperate world. Most of the population is urbanized, with pleasant countryside and reclaimed wilderness beyond the cities. A series of orbital elevators link the surface with the orbiting Highdwellings and resource satellites.
- Marzanna
- The Counter Isbanir is believed by historians and archaeologists to have been the main human world in the Ortelius System. Nothing now remains but a dead world ravaged by radiation storms. Access to and information about Marzanna is strictly controlled by the Galician authorities.
- The Great Exigency
- The mysterious cataclysm that destroyed the Old Culture. Believed to have occurred sometime before -200 NE, perhaps 2,500 years ago. Information about the Old Culture is largely speculative, but rumors persist that the government is suppressing knowledge recovered by the early space expeditions and from the archives of the Renaissance Movement.