Lore: Epsilon Eridani System

The Epsilon Eridani System

Overview

A relatively young system, thought to have formed between 400 and 800 million years ago, ε Eridani is the 13th nearest star system to Sol, located 3.2 parsecs from it. It is a single-star system, home to several distinct debris rings still lingering from it's formation, as well as a limited number of terrestrial planets and several gas giants. The notable bodies of the system in order of increasing semi-major axis are:

• Ran - Star

• Baldr - Terrestrial Planet
• Albion - Terrestrial Planet
• Hodr - Terrestrial Planet

• Inner Asteroid Belt - Astronomical Feature

• Aegir - Gas Giant
• Forseti - Gast Giant

• Outer Asteroid Belt - Astronomical Feature

• Thunor - Gas Giant
• Heimdallr - Gas Giant

• Comet Belt - Astronomical Feature

Ran

The single star at the center of the Epsilon Eridani system, Ran is a bright and young star which generates stronger UV and solar winds compared to larger and older Sol. It belongs to the spectral class K2V. The name "Ran" derives from the Old Norse "Rán" (lit.: theft, robbery), a goddess which personified the sea. Generally thought to embody it's dangerous and unfavorable aspects, she was sometimes depicted as killing seafarers by dragging them into the depths with a fishing net. The star's low orbits are largely unoccupied save for solar power collection infrastructure, as well as space weather monitoring and scientific probes.

Baldr

A small and airless terrestrial world, orbiting roughly 0.34 AU from Ran, Baldr is tidally locked in a 2:5 resonance, it's astronomical day is rather long at ~32 days compared to it's ~81 day orbit, leading to a solar day ~54 days long. The extreme thermal environment at the planet's surface, coupled to the proximity to the star and it's powerful stellar winds, leave Baldr ironically overshadowed by the system's plentiful debris rings in the mining sector. The planet holds no permanent population, however it has been previously visited by manned expeditions and been the object of scientific study for nearly as long as the system has been colonized. The planet is named after the Norse god of light, owing to it's proximity to the star, whose death is prophesized to be a harbinger of the end of the world.

Albion

Albion is the only Earth-like planet in the Epsilon Eridani system. Detection of it's earth-like characteristics, most notable of which were the presence of water vapor and oxygen in it's atmosphere, were the very reason the system became one of the first targets Humanity set out to colonize.

Surface Conditions

The planet orbits at roughly 0.71 AU from Ran, weighing 1.3 Earth Masses and with a radius of 1.1 Earth Radii, well as a similar, if marginally richer in oxygen atmosphere. The solar day on Albion is 33 hours and 8 minutes long. Surface temperatures reach as low as -101°C at the poles and as high as 26°C during summer at the equator, although average temperatures in most inhabited areas hover somewhere around 0°C over the course of the year. When it was first colonized, Albion already harbored it's own alien biosphere, although it was primitive compared to Terran life. Oxygen producing bacteria and small land vegetation and fungi were all that were present on land. While an analogue to the Eukaryotic cell had seemingly evolved, the handful of multicellular animal organisms within the planet's cold oceans were only beginning to develop. How such life had developed in so short a timeframe when compared to Terra was both highly unexpected to it's first settlers and still a topic of scientific discussion, although current leading theories are that relatively advanced microbes and possibly even eukaryotic life may have been seeded through panspermia after the planet had cooled from it's formation. Regardless of how it arose, the planet's native life was unfortunately ill-equipped to compete with the Terran specimens brought by the colonization effort, and a significant part of that early life was lost before any attempts at study and preservation could be made. Most of pre-human Eridanian life today exists only within controlled study environments and purpose-made space stations which attempt to emulate the planet's early biosphere. On the surface itself, most of the planet's flora and fauna have been replaced by descendants of the imported Terran examples and gene-edited additions which were considered necessary to stabilize the biosphere during the change, although a handful of the most adaptable of native land and sea life managed to persist into the current day, and were considered best left as they were. The planet's equator harbors a climate not too unlike temperate regions of Terra, although the further away from it one travels it quickly becomes more tundra-like and eventually arctic, with large continental glaciers dominating the planet's higher latitudes completely.

Colonization

While most early colonies did not stray far from the more habitable equator, present-day arcologies on Albion will sometimes stretch into the more desolate high latitudes when needed. Population densities are, in general, low and concentrated around a few major metropolises near the equator. The planet is the capital of the Eridani Alliance, headquartered in Morveren, one of the planet's largest cities, built along the coast of the Galdrygean Ocean, within the region where the first colonists had once landed their shuttles. It's sparser regions, meanwhile, include smaller clusters of towns, cities and standalone arcologies, and are unique within the Epsilon Eridani system given the world's singular status as a habitable, breathable natural environment. One of the reasons for this lack of centralization, which has carried to the Alliance's governing of it's interstellar territories, is the relative heterogeneity of initial settlement. Unlike many of the colonies that arose in the super-luminal age the Eridani awoke to, theirs was a colonization effort of a single, self-contained trip, one with enough numbers to establish many concurrent settlements on the surface, many of which have persisted into the current day.

Notable Locations

Morveren

Morveren and the greater Morveren Region lie on the western shore of the Galdrygean Ocean, only a dozen degrees north of the equator. It is defined by a region of low-relief terrain, extending into the ocean in relatively wide plains and sandy shores, flanked north and south by mountainous and cliff-prone terrain, Additionally, much of this coast is sheltered by a system of islands. This relatively hospitable coast of mild weather and stable, oceanic climate is home to so much of Albion's population and the capital of the Alliance by no coincidence, for it was one of the first areas chosen for landfall by the initial colonists, and was populated by a large basis of colonists from the ship's primary nations. The current-day metropolis which occupies the region, extends from one cliff-lined coast to the other, inland and out to many of the islands just off the shore, and is often the place people who "have been to Albion" have visited. From an urban planning point of view, Morveren is generally considered an expensive and even difficult city to develop, given it's long, comprehensive, and very much strict planning permission requirements, building codes and zoning laws which have only grown in size and complexity over as the city itself has. Save for the densest of downtown areas and islands, population densities quickly drop off when compared to modern Terran counterparts due to a generally lower emphasis on verticality, in addition to many more green spaces, parks, footpaths, and so on, when compared to Terra's wealth of self-contained Arcologies. The city itself is serviced by an extensive subway system, while overland rail is used for further destinations. Architectural styles vary between boroughs within the city, drawn from many of it's originating cultures, and containing everything from modernized reimaginings of old Terran styles to wholly new and contemporary buildings. With one of it's hallmarks being the prominent use of stone still finding currency with private and government structures alike, even when only as a façade material.

Landmarks of Morveren

• Alliance Parliament Complex

Built along an elevated part of the landscape upon the north-western part of the city, the parliamentary complex of the Alliance is the prototypical example of Eridanian Classicist architecture. Clean-cut stone brick and tall, bronze-fixtured windows whose shape retain hints of their distant gothic origins as they loom over it's encircling hedges from nearly a meter above street level. Within it's sprawling halls are housed both chambers of parliament, as well as many other spaces, including but not limited to: meeting rooms, chambers and offices for visiting diplomats and members of government, a press briefing chamber, an intelligence management complex and a closed-access library responsible for archival of Alliance documents, as well as offering members of government access to reference material and research services.

• Orion Confederacy Delegation Office, Epsilon Eridani Branch

An imposing building of trapezoidal shape, it's almost brutalist unadorned metal and glass construction is unlike anything else in the city, to the point of seeming like it's been imported wholesale from Sol. The flags of every human government within OriCon are flown along the concourse before it.

• National Museum of the Alliance Navy

An austere and angular building, designed with large and imposing asymmetrical windows to illuminate it's spacious interior. It contains many examples of Alliance space hardware, exhibits on it's myriad military vessels both current and historical, and a permanent exhibit on the complete history of the ICV Albion, from the first design drafts penned in Sol to photographic and written accounts of the planet's settlement. An Alliance Navy missile frigate is kept at the grounds as a museum ship. Named the ANS Trafalgar, it had been in service up until the late 2550s, where the aging vessel saw limited use in a fire-support role against Xenomorph incursions at the edges of OriCon space before being finally converted into a display piece.

Regnfelt

One of the planet's largest cities, it lies roughly 150km from the eastern shore of the Aettrian Ocean and was built upon the shore of river Heggel. Cold winds from the region's predominantly humid continental climate whistle in from beyond the nearby dormant volcano, Mt. Sovendefjell, and blanket the region in heavy snowfall every winter. Much more geographically constrained than Morveren thanks to the nearby mountainous terrain, the city is home to some of Albion's tallest structures, while underground tunnels and partially open-air areas below ground-level are relatively common. Outdoors areas in Regnfelt are often particularly recognizable for their prominent use of local basalt and other dark volcanic stone given their convenient weathering resistance, although many newer buildings have begun adopting the material alongside other similarly dark palettes for their aesthetic appeal and contrast to the snow, leading it to become a hallmark of the city within recent centuries. Unlike most of the planet of Albion, and indeed, the whole system of Epsilon Eridani itself, Regnfelt's demographics are skewed in favor of many of the system's less represented cultures, particularly those of Scandinavian descent, having been initially established by a small, but still significant conclave of such peoples from the ICV Albion.

Landmarks of Regnfelt

• Stratton Medical Inc. Headquarters

Not merely a building, but a sprawling campus of R&D and healthcare laboratories leading up the slight incline to the company's administrative center, a towering monolith of black-tinted glass bearing it's rather aesclepian logo, wherein the snake forms a recognizable "S". Although now a subsidiary of Vey-Med Orion, SMI had once quickly established itself as one of the largest medical corporations of Epsilon Eridani in it's early days thanks to the popularity and thus sheer demand for genemodding services, of which their founders were quick to capitalize upon. However, once initial demand lessened, their expansion into the market of general healthcare came too late to prevent purchase by the, by that point, much better-established OriCon branch of the Skrellian megacorporation.

• Kentwell University's Museum of Natural History

A wide, beaux-arts syled building found within the University's grounds. It's limestone neoclassical facade and vaulted ceilings are separated like ribs by tall, modern windows on shining steel frames, often to low, dramatic lighting at night. The museum itself is one of the most complete sources of information on Albion as a planet, including exhibits on extinct and/or fossilized alien flora and fauna from before human colonization, the geological history of the region and especially of Mt. Sovendefjell, and much more.

• Loch Morkh

A freshwater lake amidst the mountains, not all too far from Regnfelt. It's peaceful shore and the surrounding nigh-untouched wilderness are a common tourist destination for those visiting the city or wishing for a break from it's monumental, looming skyscrapers. The region is considered a natural heritage site by the Alliance government. It is closely studied for insights into the region's geology and due to it's location within a tectonic subduction zone.

Other Locations

Albion is Epsilon Eridani's sole habitable world, and where the vast majority planet-bound Eridanians live. There are dozens of other large metropolitan centers not listed here, and uncountable numbers of smaller cities and towns spread over it's many continents, especially along equatorial regions, each with their own history and character.

Hodr

The only inner-system dwarf planet, Hodr is a small airless world near the inner limits of the system's innermost asteroid belt, generally thought to have formed alongside it. Although initially colonized for it's concentration of mineral resources, it's position at the edge of the asteroid belt has seen it become a major logistical center for belt mining and interplanetary trade. Although metals and other raw resources are still moved in great quantities through it, they are far from the only goods to do so in the present day. In ancient Norse legend, Hodr is the old norse god of darkness and winter, the blind brother of Baldr, who is tricked into slaying his brother by the trickster god Loki.

Inner Asteroid Belt

The innermost of the system's asteroid belts, it extends from roughly 1.5 to 2.5 AU from the star. Being a relatively young star system, Epsilon Eridani contains many more small astronomical bodies and general debris from it's formation compared to Sol. This plentiful supply of easily accessed resources has been exploited since the settling of the system given the need to provide Albion with orbital infrastructure, and such a need has only grown as the system developed. Today, the Inner Belt is the main supplier of materials to most space-based projects and industry, such as the myriad families of orbital habitats the outer system is known for.

Aegir

A gas giant of roughly 0.8 Jupiter masses orbiting at the outer limit of the system's inner asteroid belt, this was the first planet to be detected in it's roughly 3.5 au orbit around Ran. It's orbital space houses myriad moons and hundreds of space stations, ranging from hydrogen depots near the giant to distant families or "fleets" of civilian facilities. Overall, Aegir and it's many moons form a local subsystem which contains the majority of the system's space-bound population. In Norse myth, Aegir is a personification of the ocean and husband to Ran, whose children are referred to as the waves of the sea.

Outer System

Although not completely uninhabited, the outer regions of Epsilon Eridani contain only a very small fraction of the system's population, as few people have a need to venture beyond Aegir and fewer still to cross the Outer Asteroid Belt to the lonely gas giants that lie at the system's edge.

History & Culture

Life in Epsilon Eridani

Life in Epsilon Eridani is in most respects similar to life within Sol, although with a drastically smaller population and a sometimes familiar, yet often strikingly different set of cultures to even the original Post-Diaspora Sol colonies it arose from. The majority of Eridanians are planet-bound and live upon the sole habitable world of Albion. Beyond them, a large fraction of the system's remaining population is partially or completely space-bound, and live in the countless habitats and stations across the system, especially those orbiting it's innermost gas-giant, Aegir.

Eridanian Language

The language of Epsilon Eridani, often referred to as "Eridani Common", descends from the early Sol Common spoken by the subset of Sol territories that contributed colonists to the ICV Albion's crew. When compared to Modern Sol Common, one finds an endless number of differences, owing not only to the roughly 200 years Sol Common spent evolving independently from it, but also due to having borrowed from new languages more familiar to Eridanian colonists and even reviving certain Middle and Old English spellings or concepts, whilst dropping a large part of those influences unfamiliar to them such as French and German. Modern Eridani Common, while distinct from Sol Common, has been in sufficient contact with the latter to ensure a reasonable level of mutual understanding, though it varies between individuals, with a younger and/or more cosmopolitan person possibly having no more than a characteristic accent, while someone less inclined might be genuinely difficult for a Sol tourist to understand. Very unlike Sol's limited "ceremonial" relation to Sol Common, Epsilon Eridanians use Eridani Common as their primary language in everyday life and learn Galactic Common as a second language.

Eridanian Timekeeping

Time within Epsilon Eridani is primarily based around Albion. Due to the planet's orbit, the Epsilon Eridanian year is 175 days long except for leap years and consists of 8 months 20-23 days long. The 33 hour and 8 minute day is generally separated into three parts, "Morning (MG / Morᵹen)", "Mid-Day (MD / Middæġ)" and "Evening (AE / Ǣfen)". Each third is 11 hours long, with an additional 8 minutes of "Midnight / Midniht " which are considered "hourless". The standard timezone is Morveren Mean Time (EE:MMT). Digital clocks will generally display the hour as "XX" during the eight minutes of midnight. Physical timepieces such as wristwatches, on the other hand, are made with eleven hour indices, rather than Terra's twelve, with three revolutions indicating a full day. Normal convention is to have the hour hand stop during midnight and keep the additional eight minutes via a faster, 34th revolution of the minute hand, although some clocks incorporate alternative ways of displaying it such as an independent hand or separate inner dial.

Naming Conventions

Standard human naming convention remain the basis for Eridanians, and generally follows naming trends inherited from their originating regions (England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Iceland). In general, surnames of non-Anglo-Saxon origin are used in their non-anglicized form, although the anglicized form may be used interchangeably, usually as a convenience to non-Eridanians. First names are not so consistent and may be anglicized or not.

Alien Inhabitants

Even if not entirely unheard of, alien citizens of Epsilon Eridani are quite few and far between, as the system never had a significant draw such as Mars had on the Tyrmalin for Sol. While most are welcome to live there if they wish, the distance from Frontier space, coupled with the system's identity still being so heavily human-centered due to it's past and relationship to old Terran custom has done much to discourage members of other species when choosing to move to Alliance space, especially when compared to the options presented by most other Alliance systems.

Modern Culture

While the initial efforts of the colonists of Epsilon Eridani to redefine themselves are all but past, there's no doubt it's only so due to their clear success. To the present day, anthropology, literature, linguistics, history, and related fields still see much higher interest and ongoing research at most Eridanian universities than their Terran peers, and while not always to the taste of every young Epsilon Eridanian, Albion still houses enough fathomless state libraries and museums to constitute the bulk of original Terran artifacts outside of Sol. Meanwhile, time did little to homogenize the cultures which first settled the planet, let alone the system, where many regional traditions still trace themselves back to specific sections or sometimes even just a handful of colonists from the Albion. Quite unlike to the more strict societal norms of the other non-Sol states of the Orion Confederation, social life within the Alliance, and within Epsilon Eridani itself still mirrors in many ways the very same liberal democracies it's diaspora roots were spawned from, including no shortage of counterculture and alternative movements, though while a rare few seek to challenge the very foundations of Eridanian culture itself, many are, in reality, yet another facet of it, recovering and reimagining their Terran origins of ages past into local counterparts, with some of those fringe groups such witches, pagans and satanists having been, if anything, reinforced by the state's early inquiries into European myth.

Religion

Although a third of the ICV Albion's crew was already declared agnostic by the time they had left Sol, that fraction would prove surprisingly small by the time they joined OriCon and found that most religious beliefs had been steadily falling out of favour in human space during the intervening centuries. The first settlers had brought with them many religions common to their regions of origin, allowing English Protestantism, Irish Catholicism, as well as other christian denominations from the remaining regions to find their way to the colony's beginnings. As the Eridanian character developed, however, the keen interest in how their ancient cultures had shared parallels inevitably began to explore the ties between Anglo-Saxon and Norse paganism, as well as how it sometimes differed from it's elusive cousin, Celtic paganism. While only limited amounts of information remained on the specifics of such religions, many smaller myths, beliefs and superstitions, both unknowingly inherited through the constituent cultures and recently rediscovered during this period of public interest, found generally good reception from most Eridanians, and in the coming decades both organized paganism and independent occultism saw a small resurgence in many regions within the growing colonies.

Overall, while agnosticism is not uncommon within the Alliance today, Epsilon Eridani itself remains one of the most religious sections of human space in an age where that agnosticism has otherwise risen to become the human standard, thanks both their unwillingness to give up the beliefs which they'd inherited from distant Terra, as well as the lengths to which older mythology was returned to the public consciousness in the colony's formative years. This has led over time to a gradual blending between these different aspects into composite and myriad belief choices as dependent on geography as they are upon the individuals themselves.

Monarchy

While most of Terra's British Royal Family survived the Final War, and although many places within Sol still recognize them in a ceremonial role to some capacity, their influence would not prove a lasting mark on the ICV Albion or the colony it would one day spawn. Later, faster attempts at colonization made with FTL technology would eventually extend or reinvent the role of monarchy within the space that went on to became the Orion Confederation and even parts of the Alliance, however the Eridanian's motions to distinguish themselves from their Sol origins quickly saw such an aspect of government left behind with Terra, if nothing else for a lack of need or mandate at the time, although passing mentions to non-existent monarchy still happen on occasion, largely as irony or figure of speech.