Difference between revisions of "Lirsautton"

Revision as of 05:28, 20 December 2011

The Lirsautton solar system in the Everyshore region is the home of the Jin-Mei nation and people^[1], and the capital of its respective Assembly territory. Its physical distance to Luminaire of less than 2 lightyears, the closest of any major Federation member-state, has led to Lirsautton wielding an extremely strong level of influence on Gallente affairs in all areas, to a disproportionate extent considering the relatively short amount of time since first contact. The inverse also applies, with Gallente cultural and corporate influence being stronger here than in any other Federal home system. As a result, Lirsautton is a powerhouse of economic and cultural activity moreso than the relatively distant Intaki and Mannar home systems, with the gargantuan Quafe Corporation being headquartered here. It is the only Federation home system besides Luminaire that holds a high-security status from CONCORD, reflecting both its nature as one of the most prosperous systems in the Federation, and its relative apathy towards Gallente influence.

History

Lirsautton was originally called Mei-ha. Upon joining the Federation shortly before contact with the Amarr^[1], the Jin-Mei voluntarily renamed the system and its planets to the modern Gallente names as a show of support and solidarity with the Federation.

Pre-history

It remains extremely unclear how the Lirsautton system was first settled, with minimal historical and archaeological data available. Many academics suspect that the Jin-Mei were an offshoot of the Yan Jung nation, citing not only linguistic similarities but the close distance of just over 4 lightyears from Lirsautton to Deltole, the suspected home system of the Yan Jung. However, like most information from this time period, very little has been deemed as concrete fact by historians. The system is devoid of any ancient ruins or relics, other than early modern remnants of the Jin-Mei space program.

Jin-Mei Exploration & Colonization

The Jin-Mei people originated from the fifth planet of Lirsautton, known as Chandeille or Tei-Su. After centuries of war between various factions, the Jin-Mei became the dominant faction on Lirsautton V after establishing their extremely organized caste system and eliminating all other ethnic groups on the world (the latter of which resulting in the low genetic diversity of the Jin-Mei). The regimented and disciplined nature of the Jin-Mei caste system threw them into the industrial and post-industrial eras faster than many other races. They soon began exploring and colonizing the inner solar system, establishing a waystation colony on Chandeille’s moon of Yue-Xi.

While the Jin-Mei achieved space flight rather early, a variety of factors kept them from expanding much. The Sang Do overlords feared that a rapid expansion would destabilize the established order. As a result, there was no inclination at all to leave their home system, despite having discovered several inoperable stargates at the very edges of Lirsautton. The third planet, Hulang or Chakaux, was settled en masse, however, and is considered the second homeworld to many Jin-Mei.

Gallente First Contact & Alliance

A small Mannar exploratory expedition eventually ‘discovered’ the system during the Federation’s widespread colonization and development of Everyshore. The expedition was investigating magnetometric signatures that were originating from Lirsautton, having recovered an early Jin-Mei probe in a nearby system. Upon entering the system, the Mannar scouts entered a standoff with Jin-Mei warships. However, the equal combat capabilities of the Gallente-designed civilian scout vessels and the Jin-Mei military cruisers meant the situation was rapidly defused. Initially, it was the Mannar government that took to bringing the technology and space infrastructure of the Jin-Mei in line with the rest of the nation, which went a long way to forging strong relations between the two people. The contemporary Hawk voter bloc, composed primarily of those with Mannar and Jin-Mei backgrounds, is an example of this relationship.

Over time, however, the proximity of Lirsautton to Luminaire meant that the Gallente soon became the dominant force amongst the Jin-Mei. The Gallente were surprised at finding another space-faring civilization so close to home, and many wondered why the Jin-Mei were not encountered earlier. They were even more surprised at the Jin-Mei’s willingness to forge an alliance, who were reaping the benefits of trading agricultural products with the Gallente.

In 23174 AD, the Jin-Mei nation signed the Federal Charter, and became the latest addition to the Federation. However, unlike the Intaki and Mannar, who established their pre-Federation domains as loose coalitions, the Jin-Mei were a functioning, space-faring nation. The joining of the Federation therefore resembled an alliance between a larger power and a client state in several ways, and thus the Charter was later amended to accommodate the ascension of preexisting nation-states.

Modern Day

Today, Lirsautton is a hub of Gallente business and culture. Quafe operate countless subsidiaries in the system, the largest of which is the Garoun Investment Bank that is also headquartered here. GIB’s habit of investing in startup companies focused around hi-tech and entertainment ventures has boosted these respective sectors within Lirsautton. Music is particularly popular, with Egonics capitalizing on the opportunities here. While the caste system struggles to officially operate in the space economy of Lirsautton (often clashing with Federal labour and non-discrimination laws), it still nonetheless exists planetside in its fullest. This has caused conflicts with Gallente megacorporations who attempt to operate by Federal law within Jin-Mei jurisdictions, disrupting established traditions and practices.

A notable example of the above was in YC 110, where FedMart attempted to approach farmers of the Jin-Mei lower caste (the Jing Ko) directly to negotiate for their produce, disrupting the social order by not approaching the two higher castes first (the Saan Go and Sang Do respectively, both of whom are responsible for administering trade affairs)^[2]. FedMart cited that Federal law guarantees commercial freedom and unobstructed trade, while the Lirsautton Agricultural Commission stated their discontent with FedMart’s advances, which had caused many Sang Do landowners threatening to evict tenants. The Federal Administration ultimately did not intervene in this case, deferring the matter to Jin-Mei autonomous authorities. The episode rapidly snowballed, with popular opinion mobilizing against FedMart, forcing them to comply to Jin-Mei customs by approaching the middle man first. Economic experts agreed that FedMart had attempted to approach the Jing Ko to avoid the taxes and tariffs imposed by the Jin-Mei overlords, thus maximizing profit potential. Not being able to do so, however, the prices of Jin-Mei agricultural goods being sold by FedMart subsequently rose both inside and outside the Federation.

Sun

Still known as “Mei-ha”, Lirsautton’s small yellow star is mostly unremarkable. Approaching the end of its main sequence life, its frequent solar flares is mitigated by its cooler-than-average temperatures. Along with being a rather small sun, Lirsautton's lifezone is more generous than in other systems.

Inner Planets

Lirsautton I

This moonless, barren planet has an orbit radius of 0.248 AU and a very short orbital period. While host to some limited forms of microbial life, the planet's proximity to the star make it extremely vulnerable to solar flares. A few subterranean settlements exist, mostly for mining purposes. As the Jin-Mei are not experienced in operating large habitations in non-temperate environments to a self-sustaining level, these settlements are extraplanetary colonies under the domains of Sang Do overlords from the homeworlds.

CreoDron has anchored a station in orbit that primarily meets hi-tech and automation demands in the Lirsautton space industry, purchasing minerals and ore from the planet below.

Lirsautton II

Being minimally distant from the first planet, Lirsautton II is also highly affected by solar flares. This barren planet is host to microbial life that prove highly toxic to humans while showing a strong resistance to decontamination methods. For this reason, this planet has not been as fully explored as others in the system, despite the fact that some theorize there may be large amounts of water beneath its solid outer crust.

Chakaux (Lirsautton III)

Lirsautton III, also known as Chakaux or Hulang, was the first and only additional planet settled by the Jin-Mei prior to their joining the Federation. Though close to the sun, the frequent solar flares burn off any cloud layers which may have held in heat. Along with the cool planetary core, the temperatures have been kept far below the unbearable mark, and has prevented the large oceans from evaporating. The Jin-Mei have settled this planet extensively, which they still call Hulang locally, and many consider it to be more their homeworld than Chandeille. As a maritime world with a mountainous terrain across the little land available, the Jin-Mei were forced to construct vertical urban conglomerations by the coastlines and arcologies in the deserts, something they did not have much experience with.

The territories of Chakaux were previously extraplanetary colonies under the authority of Sang Do lords from the homeworld. However, not a century after it was first settled, the local Saan Go administrators led a rebellion and established their own domains as overlords. Though this violated the tenets of the caste system in terms of there being no caste mobility, it has been many generations since the uprising and this cultural violation has mostly fallen out of memory.

Lirsautton III has a single, unremarkable moon called Ruxin that completes a full orbit in 1.2 days. A lunar defense network is hosted here.

Medial Planets

Lirsautton IV

This barren world was the first planet explored by the Jin-Mei, merely fifty years after their first manned mission had landed on their own moon. It was thought that despite the planet's lack of water and thin atmosphere, its average annual temperature of 305.54 K, or 32.39 celsius, and the planet's proximity to Chandeille at only .3 AU, would make it a prime candidate for colonization. Early exploratory missions however discovered that without water or a thinner atmosphere, the planet's temperature fluctuations were extreme. At the equator for example, the average daytime temperature is 314.15 K, or 41 Celsius, while the average night time temperature is 241.15 K, or -32 Celsius. In addition, its highly eccentric orbit kept launch windows exceptionally narrow. Finding nothing of value on the planet, it would be ignored until well after the Jin-Mei joined the Federation.

The lone moon of Lirsautton IV is home to the Garoun Investment Bank headquarters.

Chandeille (Lirsautton V)

Lirsautton V is the homeworld of the Jin-Mei. Still called Tei-Su locally, the Gallente name Chandeille was adopted for general use as a show of commitment upon joining the Federation. Continental in nature, with a healthy balance between lush land and warm seas, the Jin-Mei were able to prosper amongst the extremely comfortable ecology. With a medial distance from the sun, and a full year that allows maximum use of each season, the Jin-Mei have created an unrivaled agricultural industry, establishing themselves as master farmers across the Federation. The planet is covered with exotic vegetation and rich jungle, along with a variety of unique wildlife that has spawned a high demand for Jin-Mei foodstuffs amongst the adventurously-minded Gallente.

Polar exploration and settlement yielded many technological breakthroughs that enabled the Jin-Mei to rapidly advance to space exploration despite the rather stilting nature of their class system. The continental steppes of Chandeille provided all the mineral requirements for the demands of these advances, but they are also home to various small tribes that were never integrated into the Jin-Mei caste system. The cities of Chandeille are tactfully located on the grasslands or coasts where their urban and industrial nature will not disturb the environment, though some advanced conglomerations have been built within the jungle, creating a symbiotic relationship with it. The Jin-Mei are fully aware of the advantage their wield economically thanks to their agricultural industry, and thus refrain from damaging the natural environment where it would threaten their market dominance.

The planet is orbited by an asteroid belt, and the moon of Yue-Xi, where the first lunar colonies have grown into their own autonomous domains.

Lirsautton VI

This planet was the subject of an early Jin-Mei colonization attempt that ended in disaster. The first of three crews scheduled to arrive did so without incident, and began constructing the first of what would be many terraforming settlements. The second, larger ship arrived on schedule, but suffered a booster malfunction in one of its landing thrusters. The ship crashed into the settlement and those not killed instantly soon perished from their injuries inflicted by the devastation of the fledgling settlement. The third ship was ordered to turn around and return to Chandeille.

The incident put Jin-Mei space exploration on hold for decades. Though the Federation assisted in completing the terraforming process, Lirsautton VI had since become somewhat of a cursed world in Jin-Mei culture, with its benign climate only adding to its perception. No Sang Do overlords ever settled the world. Instead, the planet is home to various exiles who were ejected for some reason or another from the rest of the nation. They have banded into tribes and have settled far and wide, disconnected and dispersed from one another. The Jin-Mei system authorities have permitted some minor Federal corporations to establish limited mining operations for their own benefit, as long as they are settled as far as possible from the settlements of these tribes. The few facilities and spaceports of these companies have become almost mythological to the tribespeople, who warn their children of these metal beasts and the "evil ones" found in the heavens beyond. Planetary industry run by capsuleers has only added to these folkloric tales further.

The planet has a single asteroid belt, and a single lunar body orbiting it. The moon remains uncolonized.

Lirsautton VII

This barren and extremely cold planet is host to some simple forms of life. It is otherwise unremarkable in every way, and saw absolutely no colonization. Quafe thus saw fit to hold their headquarters and flagship manufactory here, knowing that their presence in orbit of this unsettled world would not infringe on Jin-Mei sovereignty, while still being able to make full use of the low level of labor regulation in Lirsautton.

Outer Planets

Lirsautton VIII

Lirsautton VIII is an oceanic planet that was settled in the past half-century, using Gallente expertise in underwater city construction. The temperature of the ocean is relatively warm thanks to its thickness trapping in heat from the sun, and such there is an abundance of natural life present. Jin-Mei nuyin (royal technicians to the Sang Do) decided to migrate choice species from Chandeille to the world to coexist with native life, and as a result the deep seas of Lirsautton VIII are rich with millions of different forms of life. Applying their expertise in land-based agriculture, the Jin-Mei have shaped Lirsautton VIII to become an important source of aquaculture in the Federation. Domed underwater cities can be found constructed in many of the large craters that dot the ocean floor, each under the rule of a Sang Do overlord.

Lirsautton IX

This planet is one of the two worlds that make up the “Twin Heavens”, a pair of ringed gas planets with the same atmospheric composition and a near-identical external appearance. Lirsautton IX is the larger in the pairing, technically classified as a gas giant. The Federal Administration erected a pair of embassies here not long after first contact, today acting as the main bureaucratic apparatus that connects Lirsautton to the rest of the Federation. Lirsautton IX has 19 moons, most of which are owned by minor Sang Do lords who oversee mining colonies and gas-harvesting facilities in the upper atmosphere.

Lirsautton X

Lirsautton X is the outermost gas planet in the “Twin Heavens” pairing. An order of magnitude smaller than its inner cousin, and therefore not large enough to be classified as a gas giant, the Jin-Mei were originally confused by the matching appearances of the ninth and tenth planets, believing them to be the same celestial body. The first deep space probes revealed the planets to be two separate worlds, and thus the name "Twin Heavens" was granted. With fewer moons making real estate an unresolved premium, the planet was mostly ignored by the Jin-Mei. Instead, several tourist agencies acquired permission to erect arcology stations in and around the ring system, as well as floating resorts in the planet’s upper atmosphere. Egonics Inc. (who are partially owned by Quafe) moved in and purchased several of these tourist agencies, before establishing their own presence in orbit of one of Lirsautton X’s moons. The Egonics station rapidly became the hub of both Jin-Mei classical and popular music, which has enjoyed tremendous success throughout the Federation and beyond.

Lirsautton XI

Being over 27 AUs from the sun, the relatively remote gas planet of Lirsautton XI was completely ignored by the Jin-Mei until after they joined the Federation. Having two stargates in its orbit, with a third not far from its stellar orbit path, its moons were subsequently developed as trading outposts and waystations for the vast amount of commercial vessels that began flooding into Lirsautton not long after Gallente first contact. Lirsautton XI still serves this purpose into the modern era.

See Also

• Solar systems
• Gallente Federation
• Jin-Mei

References