Uurb

**Uurb** (/ʊrb/, Standard: , officially the **Republic of Uurb**) is a completely urbanized Type III terrestrial nation-planet, the second planet in the Cellus system. The planet is notable as the most populated sovereign state in the galaxy, sustaining 8.32 trillion sentient life forms, the majority of which are human. The surface of Uurb has become completely urbanized over millennia, resulting in overwhelming pollution. The dominant calendar of the planet, known extraterrestrially as the Uurban calendar, also serves as the galactic standard calendar. The calendar counts from the traditional advent of Uurban civilization 14,088 years before the present.

Uurb's atmosphere consists largely of man-made smog, giving the planet its brownish hue. Due to its greenhouse effect, the average temperature of Uurb has been steadily increasing over the past 3,000 years, causing the equatorial regions to become virtually uninhabitable.

## History

* c. 0 UU - Primitive Uurbans (known as Protans) develop sustainable agriculture on Protos.
* c. 1300 UU - Planetwide Industrial Revolution begins.
* c. 2900 UU - Human population of Protos reaches 10 billion.
* 3141 UU - Massive meteor strike in northern hemisphere kills 95% of the population, sending the planet back to the stone age.
* c. 5000 UU - Second Industrial Revolution begins.
* c. 5500 UU - Protans develop flight and computer technology.
* 6609 UU - Nations of Protos unite as one world government.
* c. 7000 UU - Human population of Protos reaches 100 billion. World government begins designating citizens with a ten-digit serial number instead of conventional names.
* 7890 UU - Advanced civilization known as the Norons visit Protos and share their spacefaring technology with them. Many Protans also adopt their religion, Pororism.
* 7916 UU - Planetwide civil war breaks out over new alien technology.
* 7927 UU - Pororist pacifists manage to quell the civil war and reunite the planet. However, the alien technological gifts have been lost in the skirmish.
* c. 9000 UU - Human population of Protos reaches 1 trillion. Much of the temperate and equatorial regions have been completely urbanized.
* 9102 UU - World government votes to change planet's name to Uurb.
* 9998 UU - First radio contact with extraterrestrial civilization.
* 10023 UU - Uurbans develop primitive spaceflight technology.
* 10182 UU - First permanent colony on Uurb's moon, Subuurb. Terraformation process begins.
* 10203 UU - Humans step foot on Uurb's neighboring planet, Eos.
* 10260 UU - Human population of Uurb reaches 2 trillion. The majority of the planet's surface is now inhabited, which begins to contribute to rising environmental concerns.
* 10304 UU - Uurbans discover a sentient cephalopod-like race of humans called the Schmelgors living in the planet's massive underground ocean.
* 10645 UU - Long-distance spacefaring technology is developed. Wealthy Uurbans are among the first to emigrate to alien civilizations and colonize uninhabited exoplanets.
* 10812 UU - First ship of alien immigrants arrives on Uurb.
* 11041 UU - Uurb is admitted into the Council of Worlds.
* 12956 UU - Population of Uurb reaches 5 trillion. The entirety of the planet's lithosphere is now urbanized. Smog in the atmosphere reaches toxic levels, and all oxygen-breathing citizens are required to wear face masks.
* 13002 UU - Uurb successfully deflects an incoming asteroid.
* c. 13500 UU - Uurb's equatorial regions are now virtually uninhabited due to global warming.
* 13529 UU - Subuurb is declared hospitable for Humans. Development of the moon begins.
* 13996 UU - Population of Uurb reaches 8 trillion.
* 14088 UU - Present day.

## Physical characteristics

Uurb is a medium-sized terrestrial planet. Much of its lithosphere is composed of pure asphalt, with iron and other metals to a lesser extent. Massive subterranean seas have been its primary source of fresh water for millennia. These aquifers occasionally reach critical pressure and burst onto the surface in the form of hot geysers. The atmosphere of Uurb primarily consisted of oxygen, nitrogen, and water vapor until the 12000s UU, when man-made industrial smog overpowered the atmosphere.

## Government

Since 6609 UU, Uurb has been a one-government world. The World Congress, which convenes in the northern hemisphere, consists of 8,000 elected representatives from different sectors of the planet. The Congress is overseen by three presidents elected by the Congress, known as the Triumvirate. Individual presidents serve for life. As Uurb's native species, Humans enjoy special privileges in Uurb's government. As of 14088 UU, 96% of the World Congress is Human. Historically, Uurb as a whole has been cautious of interaction with the greater galactic community, but the government does maintain trade relations and alliances with some nearby exoplanets, such as Sol Gamma, Kronos, and Pita 6. Every twelve years, the World Congress elects a new Galactic Ambassador to represent Uurb at the Council of Worlds on planet Zenith in the Core system.