Post by sabre on Oct 12, 2015 0:54:28 GMT -5
Name: Commonwealth of R'lyeh and Leng, Mu 3.
Government: technically a union of two sovereign countries, each with its own Parliament, although in practice the Great Session legislates for both polities.
Culture: although regional variant cultures abound, R'lyehans have a reputation for friendliness (though that may have been invented by the tourist industry). As a polity, the Commonwealth has had a surprisingly low number of wars in its past and has a reputation for preferring high-stakes diplomacy to war, though historic tensions between different geographical polities have been known to last for decades. This is partly due to the easy availability of enriched uranium and the widespread use of nuclear saltwater rockets (which inspire would-be combatants to tread carefully), and partly to the low fertility rate, but mainly to the fact that until recently, the Mu system has not been economically rich enough to stockpile the surpluses required for large-scale conflict.
The local language and folklore draws on pre-Empire ancient Lovecraftian mythology. Tourists are assured that "ia, Cthulhu Ftaghn" is the equivalent of "aloha" and does not necessarily mean that the speaker wishes to sacrifice you to a bat-winged squid god (around which a rich and deep mythology has developed over the ages).
Geography/History: R'lyeh is a hydrated super-earth, a large rocky-cored planet with a massive ocean (inspired by Shin-Tethys from Charles Stross's Neptune's Brood). Leng is its terraformed, low-gravity, barely-livable moon. Since the Crash, most inhabitants have lived on Leng, supported by resource mining and aquaculture from R'lyeh (particularly fissile uranium salts).
Nobody is sure how the planet acquired the name "R'lyeh"; it could be related to the fact that every other watery planet discovered had already taken the oceanic-related names from ancient Greek, Roman, Japanese, Polynesian, Chinese, Norse, Babylonian, and related mythologies. Fortunately for the puzzled planet-namer, ancient Lovecraftian mythology had not yet been taken.
Pre-Uplift R'lyehan civilization depended on trade between planet and moon: nuclear saltwater rockets from R'lyeh, and a primitive space elevator from Leng, meant basic spaceflight was maintained even after the Crash. The uranium salts, nitrates, and aquacultured foodstocks from R'lyeh sustained Leng's population, and Leng's hydrocarbons and metals supported heavy industry, but two factors conspired to slow the growth of the planetary system. One was a biological mutation, either accidental or deliberate: R'lyehans are much more resistant to radiation than normal humans, but have a much lower fertility rate. The other was the low productivity of Leng as a manufacturing hub due to its marginal nature; even in the best of times, economic margins were thin and productivity was low.
Uplift heralded a revolution in production. Since the infrastructure for spaceflight already existed, space colonization expanded rapidly, automated drone ships being dispatched to the multiple asteroid belts to mine for scarce metals. At the same time, the Commonwealth Navy was hurriedly founded as a counterinsurgency force, honing its skill against marauding pirates through the Gate.
Currently the main constraint to the Commonwealth's economy is the lack of human capital. Companies in the Commonwealth struggle to retain skilled talent. R'lyeh is home to a burgeoning tourist industry as it is functionally all seaside, as well as maintaining its traditional export of easily-harvested enriched fissile materials; Leng is expanding as a manufacturing hub and spaceport.
Government: technically a union of two sovereign countries, each with its own Parliament, although in practice the Great Session legislates for both polities.
Culture: although regional variant cultures abound, R'lyehans have a reputation for friendliness (though that may have been invented by the tourist industry). As a polity, the Commonwealth has had a surprisingly low number of wars in its past and has a reputation for preferring high-stakes diplomacy to war, though historic tensions between different geographical polities have been known to last for decades. This is partly due to the easy availability of enriched uranium and the widespread use of nuclear saltwater rockets (which inspire would-be combatants to tread carefully), and partly to the low fertility rate, but mainly to the fact that until recently, the Mu system has not been economically rich enough to stockpile the surpluses required for large-scale conflict.
The local language and folklore draws on pre-Empire ancient Lovecraftian mythology. Tourists are assured that "ia, Cthulhu Ftaghn" is the equivalent of "aloha" and does not necessarily mean that the speaker wishes to sacrifice you to a bat-winged squid god (around which a rich and deep mythology has developed over the ages).
Geography/History: R'lyeh is a hydrated super-earth, a large rocky-cored planet with a massive ocean (inspired by Shin-Tethys from Charles Stross's Neptune's Brood). Leng is its terraformed, low-gravity, barely-livable moon. Since the Crash, most inhabitants have lived on Leng, supported by resource mining and aquaculture from R'lyeh (particularly fissile uranium salts).
Nobody is sure how the planet acquired the name "R'lyeh"; it could be related to the fact that every other watery planet discovered had already taken the oceanic-related names from ancient Greek, Roman, Japanese, Polynesian, Chinese, Norse, Babylonian, and related mythologies. Fortunately for the puzzled planet-namer, ancient Lovecraftian mythology had not yet been taken.
Pre-Uplift R'lyehan civilization depended on trade between planet and moon: nuclear saltwater rockets from R'lyeh, and a primitive space elevator from Leng, meant basic spaceflight was maintained even after the Crash. The uranium salts, nitrates, and aquacultured foodstocks from R'lyeh sustained Leng's population, and Leng's hydrocarbons and metals supported heavy industry, but two factors conspired to slow the growth of the planetary system. One was a biological mutation, either accidental or deliberate: R'lyehans are much more resistant to radiation than normal humans, but have a much lower fertility rate. The other was the low productivity of Leng as a manufacturing hub due to its marginal nature; even in the best of times, economic margins were thin and productivity was low.
Uplift heralded a revolution in production. Since the infrastructure for spaceflight already existed, space colonization expanded rapidly, automated drone ships being dispatched to the multiple asteroid belts to mine for scarce metals. At the same time, the Commonwealth Navy was hurriedly founded as a counterinsurgency force, honing its skill against marauding pirates through the Gate.
Currently the main constraint to the Commonwealth's economy is the lack of human capital. Companies in the Commonwealth struggle to retain skilled talent. R'lyeh is home to a burgeoning tourist industry as it is functionally all seaside, as well as maintaining its traditional export of easily-harvested enriched fissile materials; Leng is expanding as a manufacturing hub and spaceport.