Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Hera

Settlement History

Hera, the second planet from Helios and the first in the system's habitable zone, was the first to be settled during the Subjugation. The sister Gate to the Sol system's was built in orbit of Hera's second moon, taking advantage of its abundunt mineral wealth. Little remains today of either the moon or the Gate: the former having been largely destroyed by decades of mining on a level never seen in human history, and the latter by hundreds of years of scavenging before its archeological and scientific value was regonized by both scholars and the HCTA.

Hera's proximity to Helios makes much of it inhospitable to human life. Its equatorial region is constantly shrouded under a cover of thick, turbulant gas, while the geography consists of deserts, mountains and rocky canyons, all devoid of water. This region remains mostly unsettled, save for government-sponsored mining operations and academic research outposts. The former can sometimes exist in massive outposts, as the equitorial region contains the lion's share of Hera's mineral wealth, which is substantial (the largest in the system).

The two polar regions represent Hera's habitable zones. Of the 2 billion survivors of the Subjugation, only 240 million chose to remain on Hera, while the others settled on the more distant yet hospitable Nike and Tyche. Today Hera's population numbers over 700 million, although it has remained capped at this number for the past three centuries in an effort to limit import dependancy.

Economy

Hera has sat in a trade surplus for hundreds of years, largely since the establishment of the HCTA and the construction of the two mini-Gates the make intra-system trade a reality. The planet's mineral resources have allowed her to build remarkable wealth over time, and supply of Heran minerals has a dramatic impact on system prices across the System Commerce Exchange (SCX).

Hera's primary industries are mining and starship manufacturing; her wealth has allowed for the construction of an independent Heran Confederate Navy, which has in-turn necessitated strong domestic manufacturing conglomerates; of the inter-planetary consortium of three defense corporations that are responsible for constructing destroyers for both the HCN and the DCSF, two are based in orbit around Hera; these also build smaller naval craft, as well as starliners, trade ships, and other vessels.

While hydrogen cracking stations and controlled growing environments provide much of Hera's consumables, the planet imports a substantial amount of raw foodstuffs from Nike and Tyche, as well as water from the latter. This has led to periods of significant trade deficits between Hera and her sister worlds, and resulted in strict population control measures throughout the Heran population over 200 years ago, shortly after the start of the Rgyasian period. Given the strict population controls, much of Hera's labour population consists of government owned helots, who are in-turn licensed to private corporations. Much of the Heran economy is rooted in the system of helotry, and while it is a historically recent development, support for it throughout the population remains high.

Politics and Government

Owing to a smaller, more geographically localized population, Hera possesses a unified world government overseeing a federation consisting of prefectures, managed by regional parliaments. Federal laws and powers constitutionally rest with the Heran Federal Assembly, although this has evolved into an advisory body; instead, true federal power rests with the Supreme Council of the Federation, a group of 27 men and women who, besides other powers, are responsible for appointing regional Prefects. Together the Council and the Assembly constitute the Heran Congress, which sits in a city-state within Hera's First Prefecture known as The Argolid. Entry to this area is restricted to Heran citizens; those non-citizens with business in the Argolid can be granted access papers on a case-by-case basis.

Note: Additional information on Heran culture will be added shortly.

No comments: