Talk:Surface

ZUI Stellar Factbook: 51 Basis

This entry was compiled in accordance with Article 37(3)(a)(i) of the Syene Convention and has been released as an open source document as part of the Crossdown Accord. The ZUI Interstellar Support Information Service and the Intergovernmental Publishing Executive cannot guarantee that this document has not been modified for third party use. Publicly available USTA documentation should only be cited as such if it can be confirmed to have come directly from an approved Office of the Union.

Zodiac Unified Intelligence (ZUI) is an independent intergovernmental ZOCU agency responsible for providing interstellar security intelligence to senior ZOCU policymakers. The Stellar Factbook is a product of ZUI's Information Support Information Service (ISIS) intended to provide a concise, accurate overview of the entities of the Sphere to inform decision making. It has recently been released into the public domain.

Introduction

SUMMARY/

An F-type main sequence star located in the Adriatic Traverse between ZOCU space and the PACT arm. Prior to longshot colonisation it was subject of highly extensive Posthuman investigation; evidence of extensive Precursor presence in the 51 Basis system lends a degree of credence to the 'Adriatic Hypothesis', which suggests that Posthuman discovery of Zoo lead them to believe that the Traverse represents the origin point of Precursor presence in the Sphere. The Adriatic Hypothesis, like all attempts to ascertain the motives of the Posthumans and determine the origins of the Precursors, remains in the domain of conjecture. [lolol talk about not wanting to admit that the leeg is right about something]

In the mid-to-late 21st century the Frontier Society, a pro-transhumanism futurist NGO active from 2020, financed a colonisation effort and requested a long-distance FTL boost from the Solar Posthuman collective ['send us somewhere interesting' is just the usual Emberi manifest destiny bullshit. No way Omoikane et al really cared] in 2074. Human settlement took place on and is now centred around the fifth moon of the second planet: Surface. An initially more traditional system of governance periodically gave way to more experimental forms of direct democracy, culminating in the consensus anarchy known as the Emberi. Auspicious resources and positioning in the Traverse allowed it to rise as a major technological and trading power, and a leading star amongst the independent polities of the Traverse. Details regarding the state of 51 Basis during the Breakdown are scant. Local technological prowess allowed for minimal contact along the Traverse, but major trading partners were unreachable. Despite the trade contraction the economic impact was substantially less than financial modeling suggests would be normal. It is accepted that the probably cause is Posthuman interference of some kind. Emberi sources refer to the Apotheosis Event that took place during the Breakdown, which entailed direct intervention by and cooperation with the Posthuman Olympic. The exact details of the Apotheosis Event are for outsiders mostly in the realm of speculation, but it is known that some 2 million Emberek died and that the shape of society on Surface was finalised.

51 Basis' strategic positioning in the Traverse lead to difficulties during the Second Pacific War [its the ZODIAC war spacenoids and WE WON IT][god can we get one factbook article that doesnt have this Remember Crossdown crying eagle crap in it][Maybe if there were less PC Zoc sympathisers in this university.][Oh here come the hawks all scurrying out of the woodwork beating their ploughshares into swords]+++This section locked from further community edits+++ despite an initial position of neutrality. Considerable reserves of dust, advanced applied sciences and a professional, all-transgene military made it an attractive partner for both ZOCU and PACT. Tensions with both sides eventually escalated into armed conflict and in order to avoid being crushed by a two-front war the Emberi entered into the Adriatic-Zodiac Entente with a number of other Traverse polities. Following the conclusion of the war and the signing of the Armistice, surface has spearheaded the call for a return to neutral independence for Adriatic Traverse, to middling effect. The reopening of interstellar trade has seen the system enjoy strong economic growth, an influx of immigration and a more outward looking political culture. As of 2195, the Entente is beginning to lapse.

Astrography

LOCATION/

Coreward within the Adriatic Traverse.

OVERVIEW/

System mass// 1.326 solar masses

Semi-major axis of outer planet// 33.2 AU (4.966x10^9km)

Distance to Kuiper cliff// 55 AU (8.227x10^9km)

No. of stars// 1 - 51 Basis

No. of planets// 5 - Aral, Sargasso, Camotes, Celebes, Fram

No. of natural satellites// 257

No. of known minor planets// 667,984

No. of round satellites// 26

ORBIT/

Inclination of invariable plane to the galactic plane// 62.33°

Distance to Galactic Centre// 2X,XXX±1,000 ly

Orbital speed// 225km/s

Orbital period// 220-240 Myr

STELLAR INFORMATION/

Spectral type// F2V

Frost line// 3.2 AU (4.787x10^6km)

Distance to heliopause// 130 AU (19.447x10^9km)

Hill sphere radius// ~2.5 ly

PLANETARY OVERVIEW/

Aral// The only terrestrial planet in the 51 Basis system, with an equatorial radius of 4,220km. A tectonically active world located dangerously close to its star it is not, and never has been, considered for any degree of settlement. Surveys indicate that it is incredibly rich in heavy metals. Both in-system and out-system operations have made attempts to establish drone Moho mining on the nightside surface; initial enthusiasm has long since given way to skepticism but there has been a degree of recent success. For the most part it is quietly administered by the Emberi from afar, who are generally willing to provide mining licenses to just about any capital venture interested in making another attempt on Aral. It has two small satellites.

Sargasso// A Jovian planet with a mean radius of 68,000km and a mass of 2.47x10^27kg, located on the outer edge of the 51 Basis human habitable zone. It's composition is fairly typical: hydrogen and helium, with trace presence of other gases. The presence of methane in the upper atmosphere accounts for its rich blue colouration. It is known to possess a core made up mostly of quantum fluids, predominantly metallic hydrogen. Significant storm bands and the presence of airborne animals, the vast Sesha, proved to be something of an issue for early resource exploration and have influenced local space vehicle design. Sargasso is the centre of human civilisation in the system. It has 83 satellites. Of these, five are highly significant to the local population due to their size and the presence of Posthuman artifacts: Mythic, Epic, Heroic, Majestic, and the Earth-sized Surface [lol i cant get over these names 'im from planet surface' laughingxenodrone.png] which is the effective seat of government and home to the great majority of the population. For the most part the population is content to live upon Surface, though there are a number of small habitats among the major satellites. The most significant orbital constructs are the solar collectors which provide much of the civilian use power in the Sargasso system.

Sargasso and its major satellites interact in such a way to provide quite significant magnetic effects. Though the Sphere has collectively moved past the point where this is technically problematic, some older space craft have reported instrument interference and even failures. Most significant is the Sargasso-Majestic plasma torus which serves a significant role in high energy industry, scientific and military endeavours. Reportedly the field strength in this area is such that only hardened space craft can safely operate there.

Camotes// Despite a staggering equatorial radius of 110,000km, pale Camotes is a mere 1.21x10^27kg: a classic puffy planet. The formation of Camotes is of considerable curiousity to some Emberek astrophysicists, and there is robust debate as to what influence the Precursors might have had in it. It has only 43 natural satellites, none of which are particularly attractive for any sort of use. Regardless, Camotes' low density and low wind speed made it attractive for the collection of hydrogen and helium during the early colonisation process. With the rise of lifting body and etherfoil space vehicles the more valuable bounty present in the stormy atmospheres of Sargasso and Celebes have become more readily available, and Camotes has been passed over for serious exploration. The Emberi allows spacecraft visiting 51 Basis the opportunity to replenish at Camotes at very low cost.

Celebes// Slightly larger but less massive than Sargasso, Celebes possesses a spectacular ring system, 77 satellites in a complex, ordered rosette and significant natural resources. Since the industrialisation of the Sargasso system, Celebes has been the subject of substantial Emberi interest. It is believed that speculation and clade investigation of Celebes will eventually blossom into a full fledged effort at industrialisation. Part of this investigation is tied into divining the nature of the moons of Celebes. Given the high likelihood that the system is artificial, it also seems likely that the Emberi is interested in why it was done and whether any of the mechanisms behind it still exist.

Fram// A small, lonely, ice giant. It's unusually dark colouration has not made it much of a tourist attraction. Fram is locally most notable for being home to the Free Floater Federation of Fram, a very small, slightly deranged ['slightly deranged'. very professional. our tax dollars at work] start-up colony of Floaters that have made a territorial claim over the entire Fram system and its 52 natural satellites. The colony is far from self-sufficient and relies on almost entirely on aid from the Black Army despite having declared war against the Emberi ten years ago. The FFFF has so far failed to gain any degree of outsystem sovereign recognition.

Surface

Basis-II-f. Seat of the Emberi, the nominal government of 51 Basis and cultural and economic heart of the system. Typically speaking when one speaks of the system Surface is the referent. Of the worlds in the Adriatic Traverse Surface has one of the highest concentrations of Posthuman machineries and Precursor relics and is only significantly exceeded by Zoo. This has informed much of its technological and sociological development.

Geography

OVERVIEW/

Mean radius// 6,625.0 km

Surface area// 551,546,000 km^2 (38.3% land, 61.7% water)

Volume// 1.218x10^21 m^3

Mass// 7.095x10^24 kg

Mean density// 5825 kg/m^3

Surface gravity// 10.791 m/s^2 (1.1 g)

Escape velocity// 12 km/s

Sideral rotation period// 28h, 12m, 13s

Rotation velocity// 409.97 m/s

Highest natural point// Kékes, 12,838 m

CLIMATE/

Garden world. Mostly temperate but on the cool side most of the year. Semi-arid to arid in some inland locations, subtropical amongst the southern and equatorial island chains. For the most part Surface is typified by cool, cloudless days and much of the planet receives snow during the colder parts of the year. Storm season strikes the Mítosz and Eposz regions and also the Alföld and can become quite hot.

TERRAIN/

The great majority of land follows a pattern of open, grassy plains, extensive forests, rugged river valleys and significant mountain chains. Most readily associated with the Pacific Northwest and Atlantic Northeast. The vast Alföld is one of the largest steppes in the Sphere and by far the largest unbroken region on Surface: representing almost a quarter of land area on Surface it is roughly the size of Eurasia. The landscape the world over is dotted by constellations of Posthuman structures, some of which can reach spectacular scale. [was the guy who wrote this from Londenium? understatement of the fucking year]

NATURAL HAZARDS/

Some earthquake activity and tornadoes. Storm season has been known to be extremely intense.

People and Society

NATIONALITY/

Noun// Ember (Emberek)

Adjective// Emberi

note// 'Emberi' is also used as a noun to refer to the sociopoltical association which is the effective government.

TRANSHUMAN ATTITUDES/

The initial colonisation to 51 Basis was lead by the Frontier Society, which was outspoken in its support of transhumanism in the early 21st century. This informed the early attitudes of the expedition and they have been strengthened over time. Early colonists almost universally self-modified despite not being strictly necessary for adaptation to the environment of Surface. Instead, this was part of a philosophical system relating to expedition's beliefs about Posthumans and their relationship to the Precursors. Apart from supporting progressive movements in Stauss-Kaserist neighbours and heavily influencing the attitudes of much of the Adriatic Traverse, the Emberek take an experimental view to the future of transhumanism. The frequency of Posthuman structures has lead to a higher frequency of dust integration and an interest in what this can mean for transgenes. Though not on the cutting edge of Aleph research, there are sectors that believe that it may represent a bridging point between ordinary transhumans and the strongly superhuman Posthumans. [This sounds so scary ... and they're right next door ...]

TEMPLATES/

There are two unique Transgene templates on Surface, originally built as variants of the Ishtar template. They are outwardly very distinct: Heja usually stand well above 210cm in height, while Kolibri usually stand around 150cm. Most of their changes are invisible, however. In line with persistent environmental beliefs, many of these are are based upon local fauna and flora, such as the improved multiple-heart cardiovascular and the secondary nervous system based on conductive fluid. Appropriate to the avian naming scheme the templates possess superb visual acuity, with times as many photoreceptors compared to the human baseline, twin indented fovea and additional optic nerves. They have enhanced colour vision, though nowhere near as extensive as the Oceanian template. This exceptional vision is not without its drawbacks and damage due to Surface's brightness, while uncommon due to the proliferation of glasses, a persistent concern. A purely human invention are the honeycombed bone structure and hooked muscle insertions which have been independently developed across a number of different Transgene templates.

Being based upon early Ishtar data, Heja and Kolibri are not only physically very attractive but have enhanced social cognition, improved learning abilities and excellent balance. Over generations this has been tuned to improve group social cohesion and manifests in gregarious, extrovert personalities and a natural contact (or 'skinship') culture. The endocrine system has been tuned to engender the creation of eustress, so that challenge and danger and even injury can create positive cognitive states. Charitably this has made them, as a people, more daring and open to taking risks, as well as more able top act when under intense pressure. However incidences of reckless behaviour are statistically more common on Surface.

In all, Heja and Kobilbri are substantially advantaged over baselines, Classics and even Alphas. However, the template is not without its issues. Heja pregnancies are extremely long and their caloric intake is three times higher than the norm. Even Kolibri, designed to be less resource dependent for operation in space, eat much more than their diminutive size would suggest. Heja are often naturally slightly claustrophobic and when abroad can have issues operating in an environment designed for people much smaller than them. Due to their slightly imbalanced endocrine systems and the way they are most often socialised, Kolibri are known to be impatient with outsiders and easily pressed to belligerence. More serious is Eustress Loop Overload, a condition where the modified neurology and endocrine system create a feedback loop which enhances its own operation. While this is sometimes beneficial in that it sharpens the senses and reduces the capacity of the body to feel pain or fatigue, at its most extreme ELO can cause episodes of pathological, mindless aggression and as the episodes are self-reinforcing it is possible that it will lead to a complete shutdown of mental functioning. [HOYL SHIT]

DEMOGRAPHICS/

Population// 36,122,481

Population density// 5.2/km^2

Genetic make-up// 70.4% Kolibri, 28.8% Heja, 0.4% Floater, 0.3% Atlas, 0.1% other templates

note// Population data is given for the Emberi as opposed to Surface. The Floater population almost universally lives in space.

Languages// Hungarian 93.6%, Polish 4.3%, 2.1% other

Urbanisation// Strictly speaking there are no permanent residents in what could be called urban areas. Temporary dwelling in Posthuman 'cities' hovers around 9-11%.

CULTURE/

FASHION/ [Why is there always a fashion section??][kanonz so dumb lolol]