The 3rd Imperium
Download this file in MS Word format
Note
from the Author, Hans Rancke-Madsen: These are some fact sheets
that I have written for the players of my current GURPS Traveller
campaign, essentially boiling down the available information about
various subjects until (in the Word document) each subject fills only
one A4 page. I can then hand out a single sheet whenever a player wants
some information and they won't be overwhelmed by too much information
at any one time.
There are also some maps.
Feel free to download them and use
them in your own campaigns.
Be aware, however, that this is *my*
Traveller Universe, and while I try to stick as closely as possible to
the Official Traveller Universe and (in this case) the GURPS Traveller
Universe, there are differences. For instance, the X-boat routes in MTU
are different
The Imperium is a far-flung interstellar state encompassing over 11,000
worlds in 9,000 systems within a region approximately 700 parsecs
across. It is divided into sectors 32 parsecs by 40 parsecs in size.
Each sector is divided into 16 subsectors (8 by 10 parsecs). And within
each subsector are perhaps 30 or 40 star systems[1].
The Imperium
is governed by a three-tier system. Individual systems are free to
manage themselves as they desire within a loose framework provided by
the Imperium. Interstellar government begins at the subsector level.
Each subsector constitutes an Imperial duchy, ruled over by an Imperial
duke owing fealty to the Emperor. Many of the Imperium’s functions are
managed at the duchy level. What people refer to as Imperial laws are
actually often enacted on the duchy level and may not apply in the
neighboring duchy (although in many cases the dukes do pay attention to
what their fellow dukes do and the Imperial High Laws and various
Imperial edicts do provide a lot of similarity). Where a larger scope
is needed, the Emperor turns to his ministries and to the Imperial
armed forces. The result is a tripartite administration situation
somewhat akin to the dual system of state and federal governments of
that Old Earth region known as the U.S.A., although thanks to
communications delays, the duchies are in a stronger position vis-à-vis
the ministries than the U.S. states were vis-à-vis the federal
government. Jurisdictional disputes between Imperial and duchy
organizations with similar duties are not uncommon. The relationship
between the individual systems and the duchy governments and their
relative power vary a lot from duchy to duchy.
In some cases
Imperial administration is organized at two other levels: the sector
and the domain. At the sector level one of the sector’s dukes has
certain supervisory duties. He is known as the sector duke, but is
nevertheless merely first among equals; the sector’s other dukes do not
owe him fealty. There are no legislative functions at the sector level.
A domain is a group of four sectors and is presided over by an
archduke. The archdukes lost their actual powers centuries ago, but for
a while now, Emperor Strephon has been reviving the domain as an
administrative unit and transferred many of the sector functions to
the domain, thereby reviving the powers of the archdukes.
The X-boat
Network: The Imperium
is covered by a network of express courier ships. Each is capable of
jump-4 (four parsecs in a week). Along a few select backbone routes
ships capable of jump-6 are used. All sector and subsector capitals
plus a number of other important worlds are linked by these ships.
Companies and
megacorporations: Any company
that wishes to engage in interstellar commerce must have an Imperial
charter to do so. In exchange the Emperor gets 2% of the company’s
stock. Many companies only trade between a few worlds. Some cover an
entire duchy. A couple of hundreds cover a whole sector. And only 13,
the so-called megacorporations, cover the entire Imperium. These
organizations are so large that no one person can know everything they
are concerned with at any given moment. Total shares of stock, annual
profits, number of employees are all astronomical. In many cases, the
organizations are so large that different divisions of the same
megacorporation may actually be working at cross purposes.
The Ancients
The Ancients
were a highly advanced race which dominated this part of the galaxy
some 300,000 years ago.
Most of what
is known about the Ancients has been gleaned from archeological
excavations of Ancient sites: the remains of cities, bases, outposts,
and settlements of the Ancients. All datable Ancient remains[2]
seem to belong to a period from around -310,000 to -290,000. Towards the
end of that period a cataclysmic war spanning perhaps 2,000 years – the
so-called “Final War” – destroyed virtually all Ancient structures and
if any Ancients survived, no one has been able to find any traces of
them.
What
everybody knows about the Ancients:
• They
visited Terra numerous times and transported populations of Homo
sapiens antiquus to somewhere around a hundred other worlds. After
the Final War these groups were left to fend for themselves. Imperial
scientists know of 48 surviving populations descended from such groups
(49 counting the Solomani (the people of Terra), and there may well be
others beyond Charted Space. Three of these Human subspecies – the
Solomani, the Vilani, and the Zhodani – invented jump drive
independently and went on to found great star-spanning empires.
• They
similarly scattered the Droyne (an alien race) across many different
worlds, but none of these Droyne populations ever amounted to much;
they are usually content to stay on their home worlds.
• They
genetically manipulated Terran canine stock to create the Vargr, a
bipedal sapient race that invented jump drive independently and spread
across part of Charted Space corewards of the Imperium.
• They moved
around flora and fauna from Terra and the Droyne homeworld (Eskaloyt)
on a grand scale and from other worlds on a lesser scale. Examples of
one biosphere can often be found on several other worlds (In the case
of the Terran and Eskaloytan biospheres on hundreds).
• They moved
around whole worlds and messed with atmospheres and hydrospheres, in
many cases making them more comfortable for Humans (and Droyne, and
Vargr) – presumably as a side effect of making them more comfortable
for themselves, but who knows? In other cases they made changes that
seem altogether incomprehensible. And the Final War created a lot of
asteroid belts...
• They left
behind artifacts that remain functional even after 300,000 years and
are based on incomprehensible technological principles. The Imperium
has declared all Ancient artifacts Imperial property (Though it may,
after thorough investigation, allow museums and private citizens to own
useless ones). It pays a sizable finder’s fee to anyone who turns over
an Ancient artifact and may punish with fines or imprisonment anyone
who is caught in possession of an unregistered one. Incidentally, 99 out
of 100 Ancient artifacts are fakes.
• No one
actually knows what the Ancients looked like. One theory is that the
Droyne are degenerate descendants of the Ancients. Another theory is
that the Ancients were Humans. A third is that they were beings of pure
thought. There are dozens of other theories naming this or that alien
race the degenerate descendents of the Ancients. Some even think they
were more than one race.
The Duchy of Regina
Regina is an
oversized duchy on the Imperial border, 35 weeks from Capital by
X-boat, a year or more by commercial transport. In addition to the
Regina subsector, the duchy also includes the Imperial part of the
Jewell subsector and two systems in the Aramis subsector. The duchy’s
capital, Atora, is located on the world Regina in the Regina system.
The duke is Norris Aella Aledon who was elevated to archduke of the
Domain of Deneb four years ago. This has given the duchy’s lesser
nobles itchy ambitions, as the Emperor is expected to give Norris’
ducal title to one of the local counts eventually. At the moment
Norris’ ducal duties are being carried out by Countess Josephine of
Efate while he is governing Deneb Domain from Mora, the capital of both
the Duchy of Mora, the Spinward Marches sector, and the domain.
Meanwhile Count Evan of Roup, Countess Ursula of Rethe and Count Salak
of Jewell is jealously watching her every move.
The duchy is
a bit of a technological backwater, unable to produce the most advanced
Imperial equipment itself, although such equipment can be imported from
the Duchy of Rhylanor.
Regina: Coming and Going
Theoretically everyone who crosses the extrality line into
and out of Credo Down Starport is registered with both the Imperial
Starport Authority (SPA) and with one or more Reginan authorities. The
SPA files are restricted, but not very much. Anyone working for any
Imperial organization –– Army, Navy, Marines, Scouts, Ministry of
Justice, Colonial Office, etc. –– can access them, and former members
of such organizations just need someone active to sign off on it (any
non-negative reaction roll will do). Some private agencies make it a
habit to procure copies of these files, and anyone who manages a
Streetwise roll can find someone who will allow them to search the
files at a cost of 10 Reginan crowns per name.
The first time someone comes to Regina, he is registered with the Reginan Immigration Office and issued a Reginan identity number and a basic computer account with the Central Data Banks. He gives a name when he arrives and gets a com-code assigned. This is free (Any extras cost money, but not very much). It is possible to give an alias, but if one wants to transact business with local companies, showing an Imperial identity card is a distinct plus.
After that, there is no central registry of who is on Regina
and who is not. Some people notify the Reginan Communication Bureau
when they go off-planet, usually to arrange for messages to be
forwarded. Anyone making a call to such a person will be notified that
he is offworld at the moment. Of course, there is nothing to prevent
anyone from notifying the RCB and then staying on Regina after all, or
from failing to notify them when he returns.
The chief source of inaccuracies comes from the fact that
Regina High isn’t just used as an Imperial starport but also as a
spaceport serving the rest of the Regina system. Anyone going to another
planet or station in the system and then going down on Regina via one
of the secondary Reginan spaceports will arrive without being
registered by the SPA. Likewise it is possible to go from such a
spaceport to Regina High and depart the system without being
registered. Such people will usually appear in some Reginan registry,
but Reginan administration is both inefficient and corrupt, so errors,
accidental or a-purpose, are not unknown.
Incidentally, SPA does not track people who arrive in and
leave the system by starship either. The individual passenger lines
keep records, but there are many small lines and if someone travels by
Free Trader, there will usually be no record at all.
Regina: Anonymity
Surveillance and record-keeping is a constant struggle
between two mutually incompatible desires: To ensure that your neighbor
can’t do things you don’t want him to do, and to make sure your
neighbor can’t stick his nose into your private affairs! Reginan law is
descended from Terran Confederation law and embodies such concepts as
right to privacy and freedom of the individual. The government is,
however, rather invasive, and routinely violates the spirit (and often
the letter) of the law. The government can’t bust you for protecting
your privacy, but it can do its best to make you fail against its own
surveillance efforts.
Lots of Reginans prefer that their comings and goings are not
subject to too much public scrutiny, so databases are often restricted
and people routinely wear cloaks or clothing belts that obscure their
features. Actual masks are, however, illegal, except for theatrical
purposes, where they require a license[3].
TL10 theatrical masks made of faux-skin are amazingly lifelike[4]
and make it child’s play to disguise oneself. To disguise oneself as a particular
person is much trickier. It requires that one’s size, build, and face
are just the right fit. Even if size and build it right, there is still
only about a 2% chance that any random person can disguise himself as
any specific person (throw 3 or 4 on 3D).
Holo-belts (UT86) are illegal. They cost Crimp430 (700 crowns) plus
whatever extra it takes to get an illegal imported item on the black
market. Holocrystals with images costs Crimp40 (64 crowns) apiece.
Images are lifelike, but static. A holo-belt capable of projecting a
lifelike moving image (making it able to disguise someone as a living
creature) costs Crimp750 (1,200 crowns) and weighs 4.5 pounds[5].
Clothing
Belts (UT27) are legal. They mount a smaller
and less capable holoprojector than holobelts do, so the image is
often not quite lifelike, but they have a built-in computer that lets
the user custom-design the image and makes it conform to a moving body.
Cost is 1,000 Reginan crowns (CrImp625) and the weight is 2 pounds3.
Makeup can change skin color temporarily and pigmentation
pills permanently (as long as one keeps taking the pills). Faux-skin
gloves can easily duplicate fingerprints, while bioplas contact lenses
can change eye color and fake retinal prints. Faking fingerprints and
retinal prints is, of course, completely illegal.
The use of credit cards leaves an electronic trail, but
one-use debit cards are available, and cash is, of course, almost
always acceptable.
Even genetic evidence is not absolute. There exists a type of
artificial virus called an anonymity virus designed to lie
dormant in a person’s cells while it is alive, but to briefly activate
and scramble a cell's genetic markers when it dies. The creation and
sale of anonymity viruses is illegal on Regina, but carrying one is
not, so the rich and powerful can go to Efate to get one. Such viruses
are expensive; each one has to be tailored for the individual. There
are rumors of an advanced version that can actually substitute
a different genetic code. Something like that would be
illegal to carry.
