Across the Scattered Worlds

20100915

The Folk of a Thousand Suns

The Folk of a Thousand Suns were a Scattered Worlds race which flourished c. 220 million BCE in a globular cluster far below the Galactic Plane. At their peak, the Folk commanded an empire that nearly encompassed the entire globular cluster, and lasted for nearly 10 million years.

The Folk were space-dwellers, evolved in the chaotic cometary shells of stars near the center of the globular cluster. There, where stars were at an average separation of a third of a parsec or less, the intensity of radiation drove evolution at enormous speed.

Individually, the Folk were large, hundreds of kilometers across. They were very long-lived, and had means of propulsion that allowed them to move from star to star. By choosing the level of cosmic ray flux in which they reproduced, the Folk had some control over how much their offspring would diverge from the parent's form.

copyright (c) 2010, Don Sakers
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20100908

The Sardinian League

The Sardinian League formed in 5973 CE, and had a very uncertain course throgh the millennia. The League, never a formal government, was more of an economic and cultural alliance. The four main member states -- Borshall, New Sardinia, Terexta, and Sedante -- freely withdrew and rejoined many times as shifting political realities forced realignments of power in the sector.

The Sardinian League came to a formal end when it became one of the founding members of the Second Empire in 20,724 HE.

copyright (c) 2010, Don Sakers
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20100825

Roots of the Second Terran Empire

from Preface to Imperial History by Zuri Hoister, Terra-Prime Publishing Corporation, 21,467 H.E.

Each of the three main Galactic regions provided important elements to the Second Terran Empire, founded in 20,724 H.E.

Credix supplied the mystical foundations: the moral/philosophical system of Lorecanism; the Old Empire cults of Kaal, Brandix, and Meletia; and the all-important legitimacy inherited from the First Empire.

Borshall/New Sardinia provided the head and heart of the Second Empire: the brains, the technology, and the culture that would hold it together.

And Geled...which had learned warcraft through centuries and millennia beseiged by neighboring hostile states...Geled supplied the force, the might, the Armies and Navies to unify the Galaxy.

All it really took was us to supply the spark....

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20100818

Scattered Worlds Ebooks

Three Scattered Worlds titles are now available in Kindle ebook format (see the links to the right).

You don't need a Kindle to read these ebooks. The free Kindle app is available for iPhone, iPad, Windows PC, Mac, Blackberry, and Android...so go crazy!

Weaving the Web of Days:

Maj Thovold has led the Galaxy for three decades, a Golden Age of peace and prosperity. She is weary and ready to resign, but two pieces of unfinished business remain. The first is her choice of a successor; the second, an old enemy that only she has the power to defeat. The last battle will take place on the strangest battlefield known: a web of living tendrils that stretches across interstellar space. A web where Maj's enemies wait, like spiders, for their prey....
A Voice in Every Wind:

Imagine a world where creatures communicate by scent and taste as much as sound and sight, where meaning lives in every rock and stream, and every breeze brings a new voice.... A pair of linked novellas introduces us to the planet Kaa and its alien inhabitants. From the viewpoint of a remarkable alien, Dleef, we witness a world alive with sensation and emotion; and we meet a Human explorer, Treyl, who is witness to a powerful and profound transformation. For on Kaa, consciousness and sapience are new experiences — and Treyl is present at nothing less than the birth of intelligence and culture on Kaa. Sixty years later, with the Human galaxy convulsed in war, Kaa’s fragile and beautiful society is menaced by the arrival of a notorious war criminal. Standing in his way is Captain Le Galvao of the Terran Empire. But Le is opposed by the Human inhabitants of Kaa. For in the depths of the forest, a secret project is underway, a project that could alter the future of Humanity.... A Rose From Old Terra:

LIBRARIANS IN SPACE

A single yellow rose summons Jedrek nor Talin back to Old Earth. A decade ago, he served the Terran Grand Library as one of the guardians of Humanity's collected knowledge. Now the last Librarian has called together the memrbers of Jedrek's broken work circle to protect the Library from its greatest threat. Four millennia after the Terran Empire fell, the Galaxy's communications system is breaking down. Jedrek and his coworkers set off into deep space to repair ancient Imperial equipment. But the aren't the only ones.for the warring remnants of the old Empire have also dispatched ships on the same mission. Suddenly, a peaceful settlement becomes ground zero in a clash of Galactic cultures-and a bare handful of Librarians are all that stand between the Galaxy and disastrous interstellar war.
Watch for more Scattered Worlds titles coming to ebooks very soon.

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20100811

The Imperial High Court

The High Court was the judicial arm of the First Terran Empire. The Court itself consisted of a panel of nine High Justices (one from each Province and Special Territory). The High Court also managed several thousand lower courts: a Circuit Court for each Province, Planetary Courts for each planet, and Local Courts for settlements and smaller political divisions. A formally-defined appeals procedure led upward through the various levels of Courts, with the High Court being the ultimate voice.
High Court decisions could only be reversed or altered by the Emperor acting in combination with the Imperial Council.

High Justices were appointed by the Secretary-General/Emperor and confirmed by the the Imperial Council, and served for life (or until removed from office, which took a three-quarters vote of the Council). Once they assumed office, High Justices became completely anonymous. They were seldom seen, even during hearings; when appearing in their official capacity they went hooded, masked, or otherwise obscured. Their voices were altered to preserve anonymity. Decisions from the Court were announced simply by vote totals, i.e. "Six Justices concurring, three dissenting." Published Court opinions and rulings followed a strict written format aimed at reducing the chance of identifying a particular Justice.

Nominees were extended the same anonymity, their identities concealed from even the Imperial Council.

In practice, this system of official anonymity often broke down under the scrutiny of dedicated Court watchers. In most cases, the identities of particular Justices could be determined with a high degree of confidence.

As a result of this official anonymity, High Justices were often able to carry on "normal" lives under a variety of aliases. It was customary (and expected) for Justices to spend time with "regular" people.

Officials of the High Court wore dark red uniforms.

Clerical support for the Courts was often supplied by the Bureaucratic Corps.

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20100728

The Council of Escen

By 5350 CE, the expanding Natalese Confederation had encountered the Duchy of Geled.

In 5372, war broke out between the two, a war which continued until 5408 CE.

The Geled-Natal War caused economic disruption throughout the region, particularly affecting the Independent Traders. When the Independent Trade Ship Keala-ka's was caught in crossfire and destroyed (although the crew survived), the Traders had had enough.

A peace conference was held on Escen (10 - 24 Ahktyahbr 5408 CE); when the Council of Escen was over, the disputed territory was made into the Free Territory of Cisnatal, with its capital at Tep Kecor. Cisnatal provided a much-needed buffer zone between Geled and Natal.

Cisnatal, however, did not last. In the long economic depression that followed the war (5408 - 5460 CE), Cisnatal slowly dissolved. By 5440 there was little left of the Free Territory.

Both Geled and Natal were so weakened by the war that neither tried to claim the contentious territory; the peace held through the dissolution of Natal c. 6000 CE.

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20100714

Emperor Alex Leonov

Reigned: TE 321-341
Born: 16 September TE 304
Died: 30 August TE 341

When 17-year-old Alex Leonov took the Throne in TE 321, it was necessary for him to build up a power base virtually from nothing. His grandfather (Dirk Fodon) had been disliked as an Emperor, and now various factions sought to ignore Alex and take over the government on their own.

One of his steppingstones was his staunchest supporter, 17-year-old Betty Sanceau. By espousing her and elevating her instantly to the status of Imperial Consort, Alex secured the support of the Sanceau factions in the Imperial Council. Betty that year bore the Heir, Jef Leonov.

Another of Alex's ploys was aimed at Jean Carroll (b. TE 279), who as Idara Carroll's Rep to the Council commanded all the intricate web of generations-old Carroll alliances. Alex could not elevate Jean Carroll's status any more -- in Imperial hierarchy and in fact, she stood just below the Imperial Family itself. So Alex bought Carroll support with the only coin he had: he agreed to espouse his firstborn daughter to Bob Carroll (b. TE 312), son of Jean Carroll and Dave Engelbach.

Jef, of course, was male; it was not until TE 326 that the bargain was closed, with the birth of Alex's daughter Anna.

About TE 333 the state of the Empire was looking bad: the Patalanian Union was expanding and the Empire's economy was tightening under the war effort. Along with economic and political moves, Alex took very drastic measures to boost morale with both troops and the Civil Service. Jef refused to father a Carroll Heir, so Imperial biotechs bred an in vitro daughter from 8-year-old Anna and 22-year-old Bob Carroll. This daughter, Laura Carroll, was born in 334 and hailed as Heir's Heir.

One question remained. Why a granddaughter, instead of a child for Jef? The Carroll alliance had to be preserved at all costs, and arranging for a Carroll to take the Throne cemented the alliance for good. The real reason, however, lies with the Emperor's increasing disenchantment with Jef, who was making the wrong kind of friends (especially among Idara Schmidt and their powerful anti-Carroll coalition).

During the first few years of Alex's reign, the Imperial Council passed a number of laws restricting the Throne's powers and privileges. Most notable of these was the Sovereign Cyborganic Implants Act of 321, which prohibited members of the Royal Family from having bodily implants other than those necessary for the job (i.e. the implants that interfaced with the Memory Crown). This law was passed in reaction to Dirk Fodon's apparent desire to prolong his life with medical implants.

With the departure of the Paranormal Families in 335, and the subsequent diminishment of Schmidt opposition, Alex's mood mellowed and he had a reconciliation of sorts with Jef. The two worked closely together for the remaining years of Alex's reign. The Imperial economy slid downhill, reaching a low point in TE 340; by this time Alex was in bad health, and Jef took on an increasing share of authority and responsibility. It was in 340 that the Masilek dynasty took over the Patalanian Union and began to pursue a more aggressive policy -- responsibility for response fell upon Jef, as Alex remained indifferent to the Empire's losses.

Alex died in August 341, and Jef succeeded him with only token resistance in the Terran Council.

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20100707

The Legend of Mooredann

The Reign of Aemallana was a time of peace for both Scattered and Gathered Worlds. But Aemallana's descendants were not so peaceful.

Thus Aemallana begat, of Kasuret, Eper-Heran. And Eper-Heran begat Takhmis, beloved of the Galactic Riders. And of Bata-Bedhet, son of Kresnes, Aemallana begat Tharnagod, who was the father of Mooredann. And Takhmis, being senior, was the Heir of Aemallana.

Now Takhmis was well-studied in the disciplines of warcraft and statecraft, while Mooredann studied philosophy and history. And Mooredann went to the world of the Daamin to study, and she journeyed even to the innermost of the Gathered Worlds,. And Mooredann was captivated by the lingering power of the Gergathan, so that she desired to rule the Scattered and Gathered Worlds. The Gergathan then supplied the means.

It came to be in that time, some of the Gathered Worlds rebelled against Aemallana. These were Kaernesh, !Th-thren, Evenyth, and the three worlds of Toomenaw. Now Aemallana went to calm the peoples of these worlds, and Mooredann used trickery to force Aemallan to fly into a collapsar. So passed Aemallana from the Grand Scheme, betrayed by Mooredann.

Now Mooredann spoke to the peoples of the Galaxy, and told them that Takhmis had murdered Aemallana that she might rule in her stead. Many people loved Takhmis, but they loved Aemallana more. And such was the influence of the Gergathan that many fell under its spell, especially many of those from the Gathered Worlds. So it came to pass that, using the peoples' love for Aemallana, Mooredann had Takhmis executed. And Mooredann also destroyed Maercal, the son of Takhmis, and Desthaltor his daughter. But the Galactic Riders protected the infant Toolea, daughter of Desthaltor and the last survivor of Takhmis's line, and took her away from Avethell to be raised in the Secluded Realm.

Now Mooredann ruled from the Seat of Aemallana on Messilinia, and for a time there was peace. Mooredann told the people that peace had come, and so it seemed, For the Gergathan did not incite the peoples of the Gathered Worlds into more rebellions, and while Mooredann ruled there was no war. So Mooredann reduced the size of Avethell's defense fleet, saying that it was time to put away the weapons of war and begin the work of peace.

Now many years passed, and finally Mooredann delivered her final stroke. The fleet was reduced to helplessness, and Mooredann ordered a general overhaul that left most ships grounded. Then the powerful vessels of the Gergathan swept out of their hidden hangers in the Gathered Worlds, and the Free Peoples could offer no resistance. And so the Empire of Avethell, which had conquered the Gathered Worlds and ruled in peace for many millennia, came to a tragic end.

Commentary

Aemallana:: This is a title given to the Queen of Avethell by the Galactic Riders, and possibly derived from Coruman words for "sexual attractiveness" and "life-affirming."
The Reign of Aemallana:: According to legend, Aemallana ruled throughout the 70,000 years of the Avethellan Empire. According to historical sources, the same individual reigned for that vast period. All available evidence indicates that the Avethellans had a natural lifespan of about 500 years. It is possible, however, that artificial methods of rejuventation, possibly psi-based, were in use during this period.
Kasuret:: One derivation suggests that this name was related to the Avethellan word for "loyalty." No entity named Kasuret is documented in historical sources, and Klin Taris has suggested that Kasuret is an amalgamation of several historical figures. A wealth of legend has grown up around Kasuret in Avethellan tributary states.
Eper-Heran:: Daamin records speak of an "Eppur Haarin" who spoke before the Council of the Free Peoples around the 21,500th year of Aemallana's reign. The date of Eper-Heran's birth, then, can be fixed at no later than 21,475. Eper-Heran apparently lived for many scores of millennia, for records continue to mention this individual until the year 68,700. Later legend held that Eper-Heran was a trusted counselor of Aemallana. Eper-Heran may have died in a battle of some sort, for Avethellans still celebrate "the heroic death of Eper-Heran."
Takhmis:: Takhmis became Grand Vizier of the Scattered Worlds in the year 63,000 of Aemallana's reign; his birth is placed by legend at least ten centuries before that date. The best estimate seems to be about the year 61,800.
Bata-Bedhet:: Bata-Bedhet is a Gathered Worlds name, and seems to mean something like "solidarity." Bata-Bedhet's parent is given as "Kresnes";. an Avethellan named "Chrasnash" is recorded to have been Grand Vizier of the Gathered Worlds sometime around the year 30,000 of Aemallana's reign.
Tharnagod:: The name means "shameful" in Avethellan; it is most likely a later emendation for the real name of Mooredann's parent. Tharnagod's birth can be set at no earlier than the year 30,500.
Mooredann:: Clearly derived from the Coruman "Marannadenen," meaning "mother of destruction." Again, the name is probably a later emendation, and is not the name by which Mooredann was actually known to contemporaries.
The World of the Daamin:: Usually supposed to be Verkorra, homeworld of the Daamin race. However, it is more likely Nephestal, since the next clause says she journeyed "even to the innermost of the Gathered Worlds." Verkorra, of course, is one of the innermost of the Gathered Worlds; if Mooredann were studying there, then the next clause would seem redundant. Poetic redundancy is not a major rhetorical device in Avethellan literature.
Kaernesh, !Th-Thren, Evenyth, Toomenaw:: Altogether six planets are mentioned (including the "three" worlds of Toomenaw). The vast multiplicity of planets in the Gathered Worlds makes it nearly impossible to locate any of these worlds with certainty. In later times, legends grew up around Kaernesh, making it out to be a world of merciless warriors. Today, some of the folk of the Scattered Worlds will say "You fight like you come from Kaernesh" to indicate someone who mindlessly and stubbornly argues a particularly irrational point.
Maercal:: Maercal remains only a name; no data is known about him at all and no historical figure can be identified with him.
Desthaltor:: Although the translation can be confusing, the original Avethellan pronoun makes it clear that Desthaltor is the daughter of Maercal, making her the granddaughter of Takhmis. Tradition maintains that Desthaltor was sixty years old when she died, while her daughter Toolea was an infant. With only three generations spanning the 8200 years between the birth of Takhmis and that of Toolea, clearly something beyond normal Avethellan longevity is at work. The most persuasive theory is that Maercal was not born until very late, sometime after the death of Eper-Heran. Internal evidence suggests that other members of the Royal Family participated in whatever rejuvenation techniques were applied to the Queen.
Toolea:: The great-great-great-graddaughter of Aemallana was supposedly spirited away by Dareenten, the last of the Galactic Riders in Aemallana's time. Dareenten was an Iaranori, with the typical Evellan lifespan of millennia. It was the same Dareenten who took away the Golden Throne of Avethell. Legend has it that Aemallana knew of her upcoming death, and commended Toolea into the hands of Dareenten. After the fall of Avethell, Toolea reputedly reached Nephestal and lived with the Council of the Free Peoples until her death, founding the dynasty which eventually helped the Galactic Riders to restore Avethell.
The Seat of Aemallana:: At this time the Golden Throne was still at the court on Avethell, but Mooredann preferred to rule from Messilinia, where the Seat of Aemallana was an alternate throne. During Malreppidar, the Gergathan's lieutenants ruled from the Seat of Aemallana, so that in the Gathered Worlds, the term became synonymous with tyranny.
Hidden hangers:: Internal evidence suggests that the minions of the Gergathan had been rebuilding the Gathered Worlds fleet throughout Aemallana's reign.

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20100630

The Imperial Act of Nonexploitation

The Imperial Act of Nonexploitation was passed in TE 123, five years after the discovery of the Kien Khwei, and was required by the Kien Khwei as a condition of opening the Kao Li trading hegemony for Imperial trade.
Major provisions of the Act included:

Guaranteed native government.
Minimal Imperial contact unless specifically requested.
Native government to decide on all use of profits accruing from trade with the Empire.
Human colony members and descendants agree to peacably and permanently vacate planet if ordered by (a) native government, or (b) Imperial government.
If provision (4) is not followed, Imperial Navy will enforce it at request of native government.
All natives eternally and irrevocably granted the full rights due to all Human Imperial citizens, excluding right of Galactic franchise. Any conflct between rights of Human colonists and natives will automatically be decided in favor of natives. Only an Imperial Court of Inquiry will be empowered to reverse this decision.
When possible, all Colonial matters (excluding contact with Empire) will be conducted in or translated into native language whenever natives are present; native language is strongly encouraged for colonist use at all other times.
All questions of natives to be answered truthfully and completely, except for matters involving Imperial Security.

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20100623

Dynsal Moucahter-Maynemeh (A Tr#skan Tale)

When BDA Tr#ska fell in 4635 CE, the High Knight Economic was Dara Meh, and she was of course executed. Her daughter Colena and grandson Kalan were also killed by the Deletian invaders.

But Kalan Meh had a young friend, a boy of seven named Dynsal Moucahter-Maynemeh. Dynsal was overlooked when the Meh home was raided, and a minor assistant in the Knights Economic managed to get the boy off-planet safely.

Dynsal was raised in a tiny enclave of the Knights Economic on the capital world of the Duchy of Mel. By the time he was fifteen he had raised enough money through trade to purchase a secondhand starboat and cargo tenders.

At age eighteen he returned to Ermina with a brand-new starship from the Vermis shipyards; he organized a crew of Knights Economic and set out on a trade route that touched most worlds and settlements with refugee Tr#skans in the population.

When he was 22, the same year the the Deletian Monarchy was conquered, Dynsal held on R Staran the first Assembly of Tr#skan Families since BDA Tr#ska fell. A little over two hundred delegates from various surviving families attended. The business of the Assembly had much to do with inheritance disputes, but before it adjourned Dynsal passed resolutions to hold new Assemblies every ten years, and to ensure the continuity of the Tr#skan race. There was also some discussion of the possibility of getting Tr#ska back -- but the Assembly did not take Dynsal seriously and he bided his time.

When Dynsal was 26 there was a serious conflict of inheritance between two Tr#skan families claiming the precedence of the Meh family; the Galaxy's Tr#skan communities were polarized until Dynsal forced the summoning of an early Assembly to deal with the matter. At this Assembly, he and his crew were granted permission to lead an occupation mission to BDA Tr#ska.

Dynsal's crew was beaten easily by the Post-Deletian Empire, and Dynsal lost a good portion of his personal fortune. Still, by the time of the Third Assembly (this time with over two thousand attendees) when he was 32, Dymsal had regained all that he'd lost and had started building a trade fleet of six ships.

By this time the Tr#skan Trade Union was definitely finished. Even the designation of traders as "Knights Economic" had begun to fade. But Dynsal retained the title as he retained all the trappings of the Union.

The Fourth Assembly granted Dynsal, at his own request, the old Meh Family title of High Knight Economic. In his 43rd year High Knight Moucahter-Maynemeh led a 27-ship assault force against BDA Tr#ska and established a camp on Tr#skan soil. It took the Post-Deletian Empire three years to throw him off the planet. Over the next five years the Empire made constant efforts to keep Dynsal and his followers away from Tr#ska. Finally Emperor Bertilleffar I ordered BDA Tr#ska made uninhabitable; in part, Bertilleffar said, "I do not want my great-great-grandchildren to have to deal with a strong BDA Tr#ska, so now I will destroy a weak Tr#ska forever. "

A ten-year program left BDA Tr#ska's atmosphere poisoned, her temperature rising under a greenhouse effect, and her seas boiling away.

Dynsal was now 61 years old and had in his lifetime made and lost several fortunes. All he had left was a ship and some expensive cargoes -- he sold them all to hire a Borshallan investigative team to come to BDA Tr#ska and estimate a price for terraforming the world. The figure Dynsal was quoted was far beyond a world's ransom...it was, in fact, slightly more than the total profits from the Tr#skan Trade Union during its entire history.

At the Sixth Assembly Dynsal presented this finding, and asked that the Assembly begin a program dedicated to raising the money and the military forces that would be necessary to reclaim the Tr#skan homeworld. But by now there were few had ever set foot on Tr#ska, and although they had a feeling of racial commonality, the Assembled Families voted not to begin Dynsal's program.

Dynsal gathered a few faithful about himself, styling them all as Knights Economic. Then he bought a small ship and hit the trade lanes once again. By trade and investment Dynsal built his capital, and by the time of the Seventh Assembly (when he was 72), he arrived in a kilometer-long ship modelled after the ships of the Independent Traders. At that Assembly Dynsal announced his formation of Independent Trade Ship Kalan Meh, with the chartered purpose of raising funds to buy back BDA Tr#tska for the Tr#skans.

Dynsal died at 91, just tendays before the Ninth Assembly. At that time, the Kalan Meh had not even paid off its original debts.

But Dynsal's dream did not die, and the Five Hundred Twenty-Eighth Assembly opened seven years ahead of schedule on a fully-restored and habitable BDA Tr#ska in the year 9743 CE, at which time the Kalan Meh was finally removed from service and made into a monument to the man who had bought a world back, Dynsal Moucahter-Maynemeh.

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20100616

Nexus Travel Advisories: Indian Subcontinent (June 2042)

Arunachal: Sporadic ethnic violence. Travelers are cautioned not to travel outside major cities at night. Arunachal is a developing country with a parliamentary government. Adequate medical care is available in major cities. Roads, communications, and Net services are adequate.

Assam: Sporadic ethnic violence. Travelers are cautioned not to travel outside major cities at night. The area near the Bangladesh border should be avoided due to frequent disease outbreaks. Assam is a developing country with a parliamentary monarchy. Adequate medical care is available in major cities. Roads, communications, and Net services are adequate.

Baluchistan: Armed battles between clans are frequent. Travelers are cautioned to avoid the interior unless escorted by armed guards. The capital, Quetta, is quieter than the interior, but has experienced serious ethnic violence recently. Baluchistan is a developing country with few natural resources and an ineffective coalition government. Medical care is poor. Roads, communications, and Net services are adequate in the capital, poor beyond.

Bangladesh: Travelers to Bangladesh are cautioned that medical care is minimal to nonexistent. Disease is rampant, especially in the capital city of Dhaka. Bangladesh has a subsistence economy and an ineffective government. Roads, communications, and Net services are poor to nonexistent.

Goa: No advisory. Goa is a medium-income city-state with a fairly-developed economy. Medical care is good. Roads, communications, and Net services are good.

Gujarat: Ethnic violence and border raids along the Baluchistan border. Travelers in this region are urged to use caution. Gujarat is a developing country with a parliamentary democracy. Adequate medical care is available in major population centers, but is usually limited in rural areas. Roads are congested and poorly maintained. Communications and Net services are adequate.

Hindustan: No advisory. Hindustan is an economically developed democratic republic. Adequate medical care is available in major population centers, but is usually limited in rural areas. Roads are congested and poorly maintained. Communications and Net services are adequate.

Hyderabad: No advisory. Hyderabad is an economically developed democratic republic. Adequate medical care is available in major population centers, but is usually limited in rural areas. Roads are congested and poorly maintained. Communications and Net services are adequate.

Indian Federation: No advisory. The Indian Federation is an economically developed democratic republic. Adequate medical care is available in major population centers, but is usually limited in rural areas. Roads are congested and poorly maintained. Communications and Net services are adequate.

Karnataka: No advisory. Karnataka is an economically developed constitutional monarchy. Adequate medical care is available in major population centers, but is usually limited in rural areas. Roads are congested and poorly maintained. Communications and Net services are adequate.

Kashmir: Travelers are cautioned that large regions near the ruins of Sinagar are still contaminated with unacceptable levels of radioactive fallout. Extreme care should be exercised to avoid lingering when traveling into the Vale of Kashmir. Due to dangerous security conditions, caution is essential when traveling overland through the tribal areas to the Khyber Pass. Monthly steam train excursion for tourists through the Khyber Pass is well protected by local authorities. Kashmir is an undeveloped country with many autonomous tribal areas. Medical care is poor. Roads, communications, and Net services are poor. Contamination by radioactive fallout is a constant danger.

Kerala: No advisory. Kerala is an economically developed democratic republic. Adequate medical care is available in major population centers, but is usually limited in rural areas. Roads are congested and poorly maintained. Communications and Net services are adequate.

Maharashira: No advisory. Maharashira is an economically developed constitutional monarchy. Adequate medical care is available in major population centers, but is usually limited in rural areas. Roads are congested and poorly maintained. Communications and Net services are adequate.

Mizoram: Sporadic ethnic violence. Travelers are cautioned not to travel outside major cities at night. The area near the Bangladesh border should be avoided due to frequent disease outbreaks. Mizoram is a developing country with a parliamentary monarchy. Adequate medical care is available in major cities. Roads, communications, and Net services are adequate.

Punjab: Sectarian violence continues, especially in the north. Visitors are cautioned to avoid public transportation and crowded areas. Punjab is a developing country with a parliamentary monarchy. Adequate medical care is available in major cities. Roads are crowded, poorly maintained, and poorly signed. Communications are good in major cities, poor in rural areas. Adequate Net services are available in major cities.

Rajasthan: Sporadic ethnic violence in the area west of National Highway 15. Rajasthan is an economically developed democratic republic. Adequate medical care is available in major population centers, but is usually limited in rural areas. Roads are congested and poorly maintained. Communications and Net services are adequate.

Sikkim: Currently under Nexus interdict; no travel or communications permitted.

Sri Lanka: No advisory. Sri Lanka is a medium-income country with a well-developed economy. Medical care is good. Roads, communications, and Net services are excellent.

Tamil Nadu: No advisory. Tamil Nadu is a medium-income country with a fairly-developed economy. Medical care is good. Roads, communications, and Net services are good.

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20100609

Albanath and Eklaid

Albanath and Eklaid are two of the Gathered Worlds in the same planetary system in the Galactic Core. The star is a G4 yellow sun with luminosity 1.02 times Sol.

The first three planets are small, rocky, uninhabitable worlds with masses ranging from 2% to 6% of Earth's. Albanath is the fourth planet and Eklaid is the fifth. The remaining three planets are Jovian gas giants.

Albanath is a near-twin of Earth. It lies at almost exactly the same distance from its sun, its diameter is only 3% larger than Earth's, and it has 92% of Earth's mass. The Albanathian year lasts 326 Terran days, which is 242 local days (the local day is 32.3 hours). Receiving 11% more heath & light from its hotter sun, Albanath is a warmer world than Earth.

Albanath was settled by Kreen refugees from the Barentikater supernova in the Kreen year 28,521 (approximately 770,000 BCE). The colonization of Albanath introduced a new element into Barentikaterian architecture, a jarring note: the harsh, acute angle and solids based upon it. Albanathian architecture to this day retains that element of shock, that jarring quality in an otherwise-smooth line. Otherwise, Albanath resembles a rather moderate Barentikater IV, with architectural shapes drawn from the harmonies of conic sections, variations on sweeping, curved solids, the spheroids and spirals and arcs of sophisticated analytical geometry, rather than the straight lines and angles of Human classical geometry.

The oldest and most influential chaio on Albanath, ban Tau chaio, lives along the River Shatmisp.

About 2600 CE, the Galactic Riders helped many inhabitants of Albanath move to a new world, Shay Nabath.

Eklaid, home to a small population of Sebhra, is primarily a military base. Its one settlement is a low valley with a breathable atmosphere, and is little more than a spaceport, a plantation of food crops, and herds of food animals. In other areas of the planet, automata carry on the work of building units in a vast war fleet.

Eklaid was annexed by Kaylpeskrit and settled about 3,000 BCE, but major construction of the fleet began only about 2500 CE. The ultimate purpose of this fleet is unknown.

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Across the Scattered Worlds

20100915

The Folk of a Thousand Suns

20100908

The Sardinian League

20100825

Roots of the Second Terran Empire

from Preface to Imperial History by Zuri Hoister, Terra-Prime Publishing Corporation, 21,467 H.E.

20100818

Scattered Worlds Ebooks

20100811

The Imperial High Court

20100728

The Council of Escen

20100714

Emperor Alex Leonov

20100707

The Legend of Mooredann

20100630

The Imperial Act of Nonexploitation

20100623

Dynsal Moucahter-Maynemeh (A Tr#skan Tale)

20100616

Nexus Travel Advisories: Indian Subcontinent (June 2042)

20100609

Albanath and Eklaid

Scattered Worlds Books

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