HYPERION 02v PLANET: Hyperion IV Spherinx

CIRCUMFERENCE: 1.1 x 105km

NATURAL SATELLITES: 1 MEAN ORBIT: 6.97 x 104LS

DAY: 23.4 std. hours YEAR: 2.79 x 105std. days

PROVINCE: Devon

STATUS: Independent within Devonian operating jurisdiction.

POPULATION:

Hyperians - 1.5 x 104 7 Spheranxe - 1.0 x 109 7 PRODUCTIVITY%: 0% of Devon Provo

PRODUCTION EMPHASIS: Self-sustaining agriculture, black market technology.

ENVIRONMENT: An ocean world with two major continental masses and a myriad of sub-continental island archipelagos. Maintains indigenous and diversified pseudo-hydrocarbon based marine ecology which is incompatible with Terran physiologies. Oxygen/nitrogen (19/75%) atmosphere with no harmful trace elements. Atmospheric pressure normal. 90% hydrosphere of liquid and solid water. Despite the size of the world, it has a very small iron core creating a light gravity field. Background radiation is normal due to the great distance to the hot primary. Volcanism and meteor infall is normal. Average temperatures range from + 5° to + 20°C in the temperate zone.

Spherinx is one of the few planets to be found with a hydrocarbon viable geosphere revolving a quick burning type 0 star. This has led to speculation that the world’s ecological evolution had been synthesized in ancient times, possibly as an experiment, but no hard evidence to support this claim has been discovered. Note that the aboriginallifeforms may not be consumed by Terrans and most other Hominoids. The land based plant life now present on the planet has been introduced through the colonization process, but it had to be genetically tailored in order to be compatible with the prevailing chemical balances of the world.

HISTORY: Hyperion was settled during the infancy of translight exploration. In Prelmp.1174 the first colony ships, owned and operated by a now long forgotten religious cult, began arriving to settle this newly discovered world. The Spheranxe, as they were called, were escaping religious persecution, and subsequently became secretive and xenophobic. During the Integration Period (Prelmp.1076-457), the Spheranxe were able to maintain their independence through tenuous bribes and threatened assassinations. Since that time, the Spheranxe leaders have instituted a sinister plot to avoid outside control. By decree, all new Spheranxe citizens are cybernized with a neural stimulation device implanted at the base of the spine. Ultimately, manipulation of the device is quite capable of killing the subject. With such control, the Spheranxe leaders now threaten to commit mass genocide if an outside governmental body should ever move to administer the Spheranxe territory. The Devonians, unable to justify the possible loss of life with the headache of controlling such a hardline group, have never bothered to usurp the Spheranxe leaders.

The Spheranxe only hold sway over one Hyperion land mass, and in that confined space the Spheranxe have set up an oppressively totalitarian government. All travel (never off-world), production, consumption, recreation, and procreation are controlled by the massive computer centers located in the major settlements. This has led to a widespread belief that the Spheranxe leaders are actually computers.

The computer facilities are administered by the old line of cult priests who lead exemplary ascetic lifestyles. They also run the country’s policing forces. Citizens are often found trying to escape across the seas to ‘free” lands, but precious few make it. Those that have managed to escape Spherinx have adopted pastoral lifestyles, content with the knowledge that they may now live out their lives in freedom. A few of the refugee settlements have sprouted up into sizable towns, but the technology level is invariably low as the inhabitants continue to shun the ways of the outsiders.

Hyperion is still an independent world to this day, and thus has attracted a sizable criminal off-world population who have settled many of the planet’s island chains far from the Spherinx homeland. Surprisingly, the Devonians are overjoyed with the influx of underworld scum into their jurisdiction because the Hyperians are an excellent source of classified. interprovincial information. The Devonians have also discovered that the Hyperians will do anything for the right price, and are disposed towards secrecy when interprovincial missions are in the offering.

OPERATIONS: The independent lands of Hyperion IX are generally recognized as being controlled by five powerful organized crime rings (they tend to front as free traders). The privateers, as they like to be called, are rarely in conflict with one another, and even cooperate in joint ventures. They all have vast intelligence networks and caches of military equipment, but often buy the services of other powers to move them from planet to planet. Needless to say, these crimelords deal mostly in information, although the traditional realms of illicit drugs, prostitution, racketeering, and slavery are not beneath them.

The criminals and mercenaries which constitute the Hyperian population have adopted the refugee Spheranxe lifestyles, living in relatively quiet communities until a challenging assignment comes along. It has been agreed that each of the five main privateers has access to the manpower resources of a given number of these isolated communities. Local rosters are kept of the talent available at any given time.

Supply acquisition and trading activities in Spherinx proper are Insane (-100), and will likely result in the character’s undoing. In contrast, the Hyperian communities are open; supply acquisition is Easy (+ 20) and black market items are readily available. There is likely to be a market for anything somewhere on Hyperion IX, so merchandising is also Easy (+ 20) but swindles are common.