Image from Richard Patterson | |
Memorial to Silverback Elder : Ao Lai system |
Ao Lai (Gamma Leporis A & B) | |
System: | Ao Lai (Gamma Leporis A & B) |
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Region: | Inner Sphere |
Distance from Sol: | 29.3 light years |
Orbital Dynamics: | Components A and B orbit with a period of 18,774 years and an eccentricity of 0.57 (they may be as close as 375 a.u. or as far apart as 1357 a.u.). As measured from the plane of the ecliptic in Gamma Leporis A, this orbit is inclined by 25 degrees. Stable orbits for lesser bodies may be found within 125 a.u. of components A and B, or in their mutual Oort cloud at distances of greater than 2590 a.u. from the two stars. In the first century After Tranquility A and B were 864 a.u. apart. They passed periastron, their closest approach, in the 32nd century, and were at 1230 a.u. by the beginning of the 105th century. They will be at apastron, their most distant, in the 130th century. |
Metallicity: | 85% of Solsys standard |
Subsystem A: | Name: Shan Xing (Beneficence) Stellar Type: F7V Mass: 1.2 sol Diameter: 1.3 sol Luminosity: 2.6 sol (As seen from Jin Bu Hua it is presently half again as bright as an Old Earth full moon, and shines in the northern hemisphere). Planets: Originally two Cytherian worlds, one EoGaian world, two EuAreans, two jovians, and three cryojovians. Grace (terraformed eugaian) at 1.6 a.u. has been joined by 13 artificial eugaian worlds constructed from other mass in the system and arranged in a rosette. These worlds are named Benevolence, Loyalty, Diligence, Favour, Honour, Love, Mercy, Patience, Kindness, Friendship, Valour, Humility and Respect. Additional eugaian planets are under construction. |
Subsystem B: | Name: Jin Bu Hua (Provolution) Stellar Type: K2V Mass: 0.63 sol Diameter: 1.0 sol Luminosity: 0.25 sol; as seen from Shan Xing it is presently as bright as an Old Earth crescent moon, and shines in the southern hemisphere. Planets: The original arrangement (one eovenusian, one eogaian, one eoarean, a massive asteroid belt, two jovians with extensive systems of moons, and two cryojovians) has been heavily modified. The eogaian (Hope, now at 0.5 a.u.) has been terraformed to eugaian. Artificial Eugaian planets have been fashioned from the available materials and have been arranged in a rosette together with some equivalent planetary masses of computronium. The additional eugaian planets, named after the classical virtues, are: Faith, Charity, Fortitude, Justice, Prudence, and Temperance. Additional eugaian planets are presently being manufactured from Oort Cloud materials. |
Planetology: | Two of the original planets (Grace and Hope) are now close analogues of Old Earth. Numerous artificial planets have been placed in Klemperer rosettes around their primaries; they are at various stages of completion. The oldest have been computronium nodes or settled eugaian planets with complete ecosystems for several thousand years. Much of the other matter in both systems has been converted into computronium, commgauge wormhole links, orwoods, or habitat rings. |
Important Local Artificial Intelligence: | AI overseer: Sun Wu K'ung; rumoured to be SI:4. Several other transapients are known to be active in the system. These include several former occupants of the office of Primus: Hanuman I, Ozomatli, Lord Greystoke, Hanuman II, and the venerable Jane. At any one time aspects of various New Beneficence transapients may be present around Gamma Leporis A. The New Beneficence archailect has a local presence as well (the precise nature of eir relationship with Sun Wu-K'ung and the other IPP transapients is unknown). AI's Ethos: Unpredictable and eclectic; appears to value autonomy of lower toposophics. AI's Current allegiance: None external to the IPP |
Image from Arik, from an idea by Vaktus | |
Flag of Ao Lai |
Government and Administration: | Government Type: IPP meritocracy/democracy, many local variants; New Beneficence overmind (some areas); various dependant local polities. Administrative Divisions: Numerous, by habitat, planet, and clade National holidays: Discovery Day (IPP); Freedom Day (IPP); Observances on the 52nd and 33rd year of each century (NewBe); Nativity, Resurrection, Ascension, Pentecost (EOCC); numerous others by religion, clade and polity. Constitution: Covenant of the Cache (IPP controlled areas); otherwise varies by local polity. Legal system: IPP dispute resolution system Foreign Policy: Generally unaligned. Presently in dispute with some NoCoZo elements; some lingering cool relations with aspects of Metasoft. Warm relations with the New Beneficence; good working relationships with most Institutes, the Caretakers, Pan-Sophontist League, Sophic League, the MPA, and the Zoeific Biopolity. Interstellar treaty organization participation: Tragadi Accords, ComEmp Non-Aggression Signatory, Sentient Rights Protocols (Full Installment), Garden World Environmental Protection Signatory, St Andre Convention Signatory, Beta Arae Accords Third Party Principles, Ecosphere Protection Declaration, Halford Honour Warrior Agreement, Animal Rights Accord, Society for Cultivation of Orwoods, Tipaza Ethics Agreement, Compact of Eden, anti-Amalgamation Defence and Mutual Aid Organization, Good Hacking Agreement (with Cyberian Network), Bonitsa Baseline Protection Treaty, Memetic Warfare Limitation Treaty, Mekelon Astrogation Information Exchange Agreement, Paradigm Containment Organization member, Jekuamine Organization Accords Signatory, Monastic Exchange Program (with Sophic League), Encyclopaedia Galactica Institute Associate Membership |
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Primary Polity: | Name: Institute for Primate Provolution Symbol: tree on a field of stars Affiliation: independent institute Founded/Colonized: first colonized 868AT to 2052 AT. (Beneficence); Occupied for 200 years by an ahuman AI which mysteriously disappeared. Re-colonized 2252 AT to present (New Beneficence) and 2271 to present (IPP). IPP headquarters since 7040. Timekeeping: many local variations |
Economics and Local Infrastructure: | Economy: Information based gift economy; personal reputation and social connections are very important in transactions. Currency: none universal Major Industries: genetic and memetic provolution templates, mostly primate-based; ecosystem design; gene/meme/biome system repair (primate based); various arts; tourism; education Angelnetting: extensive, though not ubiquitous; intensive in remaining New Beneficence zones Major Orbitals: extensive development of Bishop rings and Orwoods |
Psyche Art and Culture: | Metapsychology and Metaethics: Mixed Inner Sphere memeticity with conservative and bioist leanings; Keterist, Caretakerist, Pan-Sophontist, New Beneficence, and Zoeific memes are common. Diversity and independence in subsingularity thought is encouraged. Religion/Ideology: Many types, mostly in primate-based versions. Neo-Taoism, New Beneficence, and Evangelical Orthodox Catholic Christianity (in various clade-based variants) are the most common. Language: None predominant; the 45th century Neo-Whorfian philosophers and the subsequent Great Diversification movement led to the revival of hundreds of extinct Old Earth languages among human nearbaselines and thousands of new languages in provolve subclades. Multilingual individuals are extremely common, and translation software is ubiquitous. In the past Bojiangnese, Academic Coronese, Brev, and various Anglic languages have been proposed as common languages for this mixture, but none presently has more than local influence. Aesthetics/Architecture/Style: Strongly variable from region to region; the Clade Patternism meta-style of architecture and community design has lead to strong variations according to the local population's physical characteristics and innate biases. Use of biological materials and technology is extensive but not to the degree seen in Zoeific or other more strongly bioist regions. |
Territory and Population: | Population: Estimates only, as some polities do not release population information. It is believed that there are approximately 120 billion embodied subsingularity individuals (20% human nearbaseline, 22% primate-derived provolves, 10% primate-derived superiors, 15% primate-derived tweaks, 5% miscellaneous Terragen bionts, 10% primate-derived bioborgs, 5% primate-derived cyborgs, 5% vecs, 3% primate-derived sybonts, 5% others (xenosophonts, utility fog entities, etc.), and that an equal number number of active subsingularity entities (mostly primate uploads) inhabit the local computronium. There is a large but unknown number of transapients; apparently most but not all are of human or other primate derivation. |
Travel: | Stargates: Watchword - to Relay 4 (Gliese 250) Twig (information transit only) - communication between Gamma Leporis A and B Spaceports: numerous in both systems; an active exchange on the Beamrider Network Hazard rating: 0.1 to 1.1; up to 5 in some provolve reserves Visa Restrictions: Officially, none Freedom of Movement: Baseline and some provolve reserves, provolution project areas, and system defensive installations are off-limits under system administration; some polities and persons may restrict local access as well for reasons of their own. Environmental Requirements: Most habitats are set very close to terragen standard Sites of Interest: Underwood (Orwood complex, Gamma Leporis B), Flower Fruit Mountain (on Fortitude, Gamma Leporis B), Shrine of the Beneficent Ascension (on Grace, Gamma Leporis A) |
Image from Steve Bowers | |
Gamma Leporis A, a Klemperer Rosette with fourteen artificial planets. |
Image from Steve Bowers | |
Gamma Leporis B, part of the AoLai System. Here the artificial planets are spaced between computronium nodes; the planets are several times as massive as the nodes. |
Image from Steve Bowers | |
Hope and Honour, two of the twenty-one artificial Earth-like worlds in the Gamma Leporis system |
I am a kind of farthing dip,
Unfriendly to the nose and eyes;
A blue-behinded ape, I skip
Upon the trees of Paradise
— Robert Louis Stevenson (Old Earth poet)
Ao Lai Timeline | |
933 AT: | Exodus Beneficents arrive at Gamma Leporis and begin extensive development in both systems |
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976 AT: | Cache of primate data discovered at Solsys; foundation of the IPP |
1166 AT: | First Federation ship arrives at Gamma Leporis |
2052 AT: | Beneficence technorapture |
2252 AT: | New Beneficence re-colonizes vacant systems at Gamma Leporis |
2271 AT: | IPP leases space at Gamma Leporis B from the New Beneficence; commences planet-building |
2870 AT: | IPP terraforms Fortitude |
3480 AT: | Cultural Renaissance (The Snow Superiors) at Flowerfruit Mountain on Fortitude; Clade Patternism becomes the dominant meta-school of architecture and community design |
4600 AT: | Many IPP personnel from outposts threatened during the Version War are sheltered at Ao Lai, as are members of its daughter organization, the Institute for Vec Progress. Over 3 billion refugees settle at Ao Lai; many remain after the peace |
4590 AT: | Neo-Whorfian thought leads to the Great Diversification movement; this endears the IPP in general and Ao Lai in particular to neither Solarist nor Metasoft forces |
7040 AT: | Migration of IPP headquarters to holdings at Gamma Leporis (later named Ao Lai) |
9340 AT: | Wu-K'ung chosen as Primus; development at Ao Lai, including formation of thousands of planets from its Oort cloud; provolution projects accelerated |