Constellation (Series)

―Tagline of *Constellation*

***Constellation*** is an upcoming space opera story set in the *Hyperion* Saga. Set in a new galaxy called Unchartia at the beginning of its colonization, it follows a cartographer called Schrödinger who, afflicted with a terminal genetic illness, signs up to explore Unchartia and scout out new worlds, uncovering Unchartia's history in the process. The series is set a few centuries after the conclusion of *Hyperion: A Space Adventure* and over 1800 years before the beginning of *Hyperspace: The Cosmic Gospel*, and the title refers to the titular corporation of space explorers. The first instalment, *Part I: The Bridge of Stars,* will be released in 2022.

## Plot

*A wild new frontier awaits critically ill mavnian pilot Schrödinger as he joins up with corporate superpower Constellation to perform the loneliest job in the known Universe: cartography. As he visits worlds and systems that nobody has ever seen before, this lone explorer will discover the galaxy's hidden past in a series of unpredictable adventures that will change Unchartia's fledgling civilization for centuries to come.*

## Story & Setting

### Setting

Beginning in the year 3640, *Constellation* is set in a spiral galaxy dubbed Unchartia, specifically the Roswell Arm, 25 years after the titular organization, Constellation, first reached the galaxy through the fledgling Nexus Network. In that time, Constellation was able to colonize five major planetary systems that were divided into two governmental entities: the Aquila Collective and the Perseus Collective. Between the territory of these two entities lay the Bridge Systems, a loose network of planetary systems, within which Constellation constructed relays between both Collectives to maintain communication across the galaxy.

In 3630, the Perseus Collective suffered a major relay breakdown that cut it off from the Aquila Collective; during this time of panic, famine set in across the settled planets. Desperate, the people of the Perseus Collective turned to Krievan Koss, a devout - and fanatic - Grounder who used the people's fears to convert them to his religion. As Koss' power strengthened, he twisted his own beliefs and those of his people, seizing total power within the Collective. Renaming it the Iconoclast Republic, Koss declared his new space-state a theocracy with him as both dictactor and spiritual leader.

Tensions between the Constellation-controlled Aquila Collective and the Iconoclast Republic boiled over into open war that quickly spilled into the Bridge Systems, decimating several promising colonies. The war raged on for five years until a third-party - a military alliance of Bridge System governors called the Bridge Alliance - took advantage of the exhaustion of both Constellation and the Iconoclasts to forcibly bring the war to a close. Defeated, the Iconoclast Republic signed a peace treaty that would prevent them expanding from their two planetary systems; in return, the Aquila Collective would end all weapons research, while the formidable Bridge Alliance would be permanently disbanded.

With Constellation's efforts to colonize Unchartia at great risk, the company began hiring new cartographers to scout out fresh systems. Meanwhile, the galaxy was still overwhelmed with refugees from the Bridge Wars and lasting tensions between the Aquila Collective and the Iconoclast Republic. Violent spacers, religious fanatics and the organized anti-Constellation pirates of the Twin Moon regularly patrol both settled and unsettled areas of Unchartia.

### Story

#### Synopsis

*Diagnosed with a terminal illness leaving him with just years to live, critically ill mavnian pilot Schrödinger signs up as a cartographer with legendary exploration company Constellation to afford retirement and a dream trip to Saturn. But within the mysterious, unseen reaches of his destination, Unchartia, lies pieces of the galaxy's hidden past, a story that Schrödinger will slowly unravel once he meets a strange interloper unlike anything the Settled Systems has seen before.*

## Characters

### Main

* Schrödinger: a mavnian pilot suffering from a critical case of Kett Syndrome, leaving him with just a few years to live, who decides to explore Unchartia as a member of Constellation
* Circe: the last surviving prime who has been preserved in a colony ship for thousands of years, only to be awakened by Schrödinger
* Wallace: the Virtual Anti-Loneliness Intelligence Program installed on the *Marco Polo* that commands the ship's robot crew
* Aurora Trasc: a pirate and a captain in Twin Moon, an organization dedicated to opposing Constellation's expansion in the Bridge Systems
* Stulner "Stu" Morris: a flight director on Constellation's Unchartia headquarters, the *Origin*
* Faber-Of-Shattered-Nebulae: a creature from Unchartia's prehistoric past

### Supporting

* HIGGS: an intelligent robot who co-manages the *Marco Polo* with BOSON
* BOSON: an intelligent robot who co-manages the *Marco Polo* with HIGGS