Thread: [WB] Sci-Fi in the Sol System

More Planets! Jupiter Jupiter Population 104,531,100,000 Jovian Band, 2,132,355,000 Secondary Ring, 800,970,000 Harvester Ring Total Population, Including Moons 11,619,581,221,400 Government Confederation Orbital Facilities Three Orbital Rings, several major colony moons also have orbital facilities Jupiter represents one of the largest established nations in the Sol system, with it's massive array of moons, and incredibly abundant hydrogen reserves, it was a prime target for Colonization. The initial efforts were focused on the moon Callisto, which still remains the seat of central government for the Jovian Confederation. As more heavy industry was established, and working in partnership with Luna, the Jovian system set about creating what is still considered to be one of the great Wonders of the System, The Jovian Band. An orbital ring two kilometres across, and at a distance to provide a comfortable 1 G of gravity, the Jovian band is a construct that is almost impossible to conceive of the scale of. Nearly 700,000 kilometres in distance, it provides vast living space, as well as docking berths for incoming craft and a number of manufacturing and processing facilities. Bridging the gap between the Jovian Band and the planet, there is a Secondary ring, much smaller in scope, but providing a needed halfway point. Just at the atmosphere, there is the Harvester Ring, the source of the overwhelming majority of resource extraction from Jupiter itself. This ring is more sparsely populated than other facilities, not the least of which is because of the 2.5 G gravity, making it very discomforting for anyone not suitably equipped for such a task. Some of the most advanced and powerful radiation shielding is employed on this ring, ensuring that personnel can function easily. Long time residents on the Harvester Ring very frequently undergo cybernetic and genetic treatments to better acclimate themselves to the harsh gravity, leading to a very distinctive subset of humanity. These 'Jovian Titans' as they are known to others, very infrequently leave the Harvester ring, finding all they need provided for them, and frequently have difficulty adjusting to the much lower gravity elsewhere. With its vast number of moons, Jupiter is not a single homogeneous nation, but a confederation of smaller groups. Four major blocs exist, the Callistan Republic CR, Europan Federation EF, Ionian Union IU, and the Ganymeden Alliance GA. The four groups control the entirety of the system, excluding Sponde, which refuses to associate with any of the other blocs, declaring itself an independent power. With only five thousand inhabitants, this small body has been essentially ignored by the rest of the system, and has not been permitted to join the Confederation on it's own. The rest of the system shares responsibilities for maintaining the Jovian Band and the other orbital rings that surround Jupiter, as well as sharing defensive duties with one another. The Jovian Confederation represents one of the more populous, and powerful nations within the system, with vast resources and manufacturing capabilities second only to Luna, they also maintain excellent sources of luxury goods manufactured within their nation, often exporting for commanding prices. And the primary moons of Jupiter! Io Io Population 1,358,330,000 Government Presidential Democracy Orbital Facilities Orbital Ring, Refuelling Station, Habitats, Manufacturing Units, Orbital Defence Platforms Io represents the primary source of mass production in the Jovian Confederation, the most powerful of such sources outside of Luna. With the extreme conditions on the surface, as well as extreme tidal flexing of the surface, the entirety of the colony is in orbit. Surface mining is done through robotics, and the very occasional manned mission. The gravity of Jupiter pulls nearly a metric tonne of material off of the surface of the moon every second. A top priority was to find a way to effectively capture this material from orbit, and once it was done, the materials were sent to sorting and processing facilities to be condensed into pure, usable minerals. The proximity to Jupiter necessitated powerful radiation shielding on any and all orbital facilities, though many citizens choose to play it safe, and opt for gene therapy to augment their resistance to radiation. Other turns to cybernetics, implanting sub-dermal radiation shielding, some as simple as resistant materials, others going as far as radiation deflecting energy fields, though the latter is fantastically expensive and rare. Due to the colony being in orbit, the facilities have been established at Earth normal gravity. This has kept the build of the people of Io fairly standard without much in the way of deviation. With such a vast manufacturing base, there was a tremendous demand for raw materials, and as such, Io was the source of a large number of colonial expeditions. Prioritizing raw materials, and later having these colonies begin to establish specialized manufacturing of their own, further cementing the prominence of the colony. When the Jovian Civil War ended, Io maintained control of most of it's sub colonies, forming the Ionian Union to ensure they were dealt a fair hand in affairs. The biggest losses were several research colonies that opted to throw their support to more intellectually minded blocs, forcing the IU to have to bargain for some of the more prominent technological advances. Still, the IU is considered an integral lynch-pin for the Jovian Confederation, able to convert it's production from infrastructure to military staggeringly quickly, and arm millions in weeks. Ganymede Ganymede Population 5,916,072,000,000 Government Federation Orbital Facilities Refuelling Station, Space Elevator, Orbital Defence Platforms, Orbital Ring Ganymede was the second moon colonized in the Jovian system. Established as a direct rival to Callisto, representing opposing interests from the beginning, these two colonies have strove for dominance for centuries. The largest moon in all of Sol, were it orbiting the Sun instead of Jupiter, it would easily be referred to as a planet in it's own right. The most populated body in the Jovian system, Ganymede boasts the greatest abundance of manpower in the system. Much of the populace idles, waiting for a profitable niche to arise for them to attempt to fill, which the Corporate Government takes full advantage of, keeping in demand tasks low enough to foster fierce competition among the populace. Once thought of as a paper tiger, all bluster and no real capability to deliver on any threats, this illusion shattered in the wake of the Jovian Civil War. Opening the company coffers, monstrous quantities of cash were spent to Luna and several smaller manufacturing points, bringing sufficient arms to militarise roughly three percent of the population of the colony. Thus, bringing more than a hundred billion people to war, Ganymede became one of the leading military powers in the system. When the dust settled from the Civil War, the Government counted the cost, in both lives and resources, knowing that the war had nearly bankrupted their company. While they might be able to unleash forces in numbers that were difficult to challenge, they could not sustain such an action alone. Thus came their entry into the Jovian Confederation to ensure that they would not have to again. The moon itself has been transformed vastly from it's original form. The massive crust of ice has been mined out completely, turned into resources, while the surface is now dotted with arcologies and massive research facilities. Underground habitats have been sunk in, taking up a tenth of the internal space fo the moon, vastly increasing the living space of the Colony. Specialized in cutting edge technology, it was in the laboratories of Ganymede that the framework for artificial gravity was developed. After the civil war, Ganymede lobbied hard for the acquisition of Metis, one of the largest research colonies in the system, enticing them away from their Ionian founders. Once the colony was in hand, the facility was given express orders to finish the development of artificial gravity units. Against all expectations, they succeeded. This single discovery instantly assured financial dominance for the Ganymede Alliance, as the technology has proven nearly impossible to duplicate elsewhere, and artificial gravity has proven to be revolutionary for the use in military and top end luxury space craft. Eventually deciding that their company needed to expand their markets, they took to converting the colony of Pasiphae from a simple observatory to a colony equipped with artificial gravity. A proof of concept project, it was a success, bringing the colony up to the capability of a much larger body, house more than a hundred million inhabitants rather than perhaps a tenth of that had it been done with simple rotating habitats. Still, the cost of the endeavour proved prohibitive, even when the user controlled the manufacture of the artificial gravity units, putting a hold any further efforts for now. Still, some particularly wealthy patrons have expressed interest in such a concept on a small scale. Europa Europa Population 1,161,535,500,000 Government Federation Orbital Facilities Refuelling Station, Space Elevator, Orbital Defence Platforms Europa was considered one of the highest priority for colony establishment to expand past Jupiter, seeking a source of abundant and usable water. Callisto could provide reasonable amounts, but Europa would dwarf that without effort. Thus, to establish colonies beyond Jupiter, Europa was established. Contrary to Callisto's approach, heating the ice, melting it away, Europa was established first as a mining colony, excavating a shaft down tot he liquid waters, and beginning mass extraction. Treatments plants were established on the surface, and prefabricated orbital habitats were brought in from Luna. Before long the demand for water was increasing exponentially, with Europa needing more and more manpower and facilities. The treatment plants expanded again, and then even further, finally culminating in the establishment of the first on site arcology to accommodate the workforce needed to keep it running constantly. Over time new shafts were dug, and more and more of the waters were harvested. The colony flourished, growing to house a large population and expand even further, more arcologies springing up, while the ice sheet was reinforced with Atlas Pillars to ensure it stayed viable. After so much water had been extracted, Europa has still barely lowered the total sea levels of the planetoid, promising centuries more productivity and promised prosperity for the colony. It's status as a provider of essential resources has long given Europa significant bargaining power within the Jovian Confederation, and thusly given the Confederation power within the system. Despite this, the members of the colony have a reputation for resilience and stubborn determination. Due to the far lower than average gravity, many of the colony citizens have been subject to significant gene alteration to prevent their musculature from deteriorating, some augmenting this with cybernetics. Still, the citizens of Europa tend to favour slighter builds, and are often taller than those from Earth. Europa has invested a great deal of effort into researching the processes to purify water sources, but also to ensure that undesirable impurities can be filtered out and preserved, as they are often mineral or chemical agents that prove useful and even valuable in some cases. While the basics of this tech is readily available, Europa does not export it's top quality purifiers, and anyone found to be smuggling them faces incredibly harsh penalties for doing so. Callisto Callisto Population 4,429,932,000,000 Government Republic Orbital Facilities Orbital Ring, Refuelling Station, Orbital Defence Platforms Callisto is the first colony in the Jupiter system, and has been a hub of culture and government since it's creation. Central to it's own Republican government for it's smaller constituencies, as well as housing the central parliament for the Jovian Confederation, Callisto enjoy a great deal of prestige amongst it's peers. The formerly icy surface of the moon has long since been melted through, and arcologies float partially or wholly beneath the waters of the moon, great networks of transit tunnels leading between them to facilitate easy access to one another. A single vast platform has been erected on the moon, held up by colossal Atlas Pillars that sit on the floor of the ocean, and stretch to the surface. On this platform, the primary connection to the Orbital Ring is housed, along with both government headquarters. Callitso was the most populous moon for generations, until eventually being surpassed by Ganymede. Still, Callisto was the first to declare it's independence from the control of earth, asserting Jovian independence. All of Jupiter once fell under it's influence, but over time the other large colonies pushed for their own independence. The result was a civil war that rocked the Jovian system for nearly a decade. Only the encroachment of a military fleet from Terra made the colonies set aside their differences in the face of a common threat. When Jupiter was secure once more, each smaller establishment was given the choice to align itself with one of the major colonies. To the surprise of many, Himalia, considered by many to be the likely leader of many of the smaller colonies, pledged allegiance to Callisto, thereby cementing Callisto as one of the most powerful blocs in the system. With the most readily available source of Helium three in the system, Jupiter has been an economic powerhouse, and Callisto has been the site of nearly every negotiation for export of the product, further securing its position in both the Jovian Confederation, and the system as a whole. Pluto Pluto Population 5,988,056,046,250,000 Total Population, Including Moons 6,006,863,383,905,000 Government Technocracy Orbital Facilities Orbital Defence Platorms, Orbital Shipyards, Refuelling Platforms Long considered the last goal of colonization in the solar system, Pluto was an ambitious project to consider for settlement. Very cold, and with abundant methane in the atmosphere and very limited gravity, it was seen as a likely source of heavy industry at the edge of the system. It's regular passage through the Kuiper Belt allowed it access to what amounted to asteroid mining operations, pushing mineral and ice rich bodies into the system to allow them to be processed more easily. Nearly seventy five percent of the interior of the planet was mined out for materials, but more importantly to provide space for vast arrays of rotating habitats, making Pluto the most heavily populated cluster in the outer system. Methane cracking operations provide enormous amounts of carbon and hydrogen for their industry. While less efficient than starting with Helium 3, hydrogen fusion can produce such isotopes for later use. Vast arrays of cooling tubes thread through the planet and up the paths of the multiple space elevators that ring the planet, allowing the wash of thermal energy to dissipate. The original colony was established for not only industrial reasons, but also for the purposes of research. Being as far out as they were, it was past the watchful eye of the Scientific Ethics Board, which allowed them a certain degree of freedom to pursue more esoteric and dangerous subjects. Though kept tightly under layers of security and secrecy, Pluto houses the some of the only known labs that still attempt to expand and develop AI technology. The majority of all usable AI systems are manufactured in the Pluto cluster, securing high profit margins for the governing body. It is not a Corporation that runs the cluster, but instead a collective body of the leading scientific minds in the cluster, focusing on streamlining the process of developing new technology for use or sale. These scientists try to strike a balance between keeping the colony turning a profit enough to import rare materials and products that are not made on site, as well as keeping the vast populace happy. Very often, the happiness falls on the wayside in favour of scientific advancement. The general nature of the population tends to the side of more lawless than most other places, as the government pays less attention to them, and the law enforcement tend to be woefully understaffed to enforce such a huge population. Still, more habitats possess a fairly peaceful, if not somewhat rough lifestyle.