Distant Fringe
The Distant Fringe is a region of space about 1800 parsecs rimward-trailing of Terra, officially settled in 2255AD by humans fleeing the destruction of Terra at the hands of the Vilani Imperium. It is part of a vast region of largely unexplored wildspace called the Empty Stars.
- It is an alternate setting for Traveller, or an ATU.
Setting Premise[edit]
What if the Vilani had won the Interstellar Wars and there was no Rule of Man? And the losing Terrans had fled rimward in a great caravan of starships, a Last Armada.
- That is the premise that veteran Traveller writer Alagoric tackled when he created his Distant Fringe setting.
Description (Specifications)[edit]
The rimward border of the Distant Fringe lies along the edge of the Great Void, a huge interstellar rift, and is surrounded on its spinward, coreward and trailing sides by areas of low stellar density called the Moat Rifts. Beyond the Moat Rifts are the Empty Stars, a cluster of stars forming a truly vast wilderness.
- The larger Distant Fringe region includes all or parts of 7 sectors and contains in excess of 1360 star systems.
- The Distant Fringe proper includes the whole of both Halcyon Sector and Far Home Sector, and parts of Divide Sector, Gulf Sector, Shadow Rift Sector, Course Sector, and Bourne Sector.
- The Distant Fringe is also called the Demon Cluster. It is a large grouping of stars within the rimward part of the Empty Stars, which is itself a huge star cluster.
Image Repository[edit]
The Local Arm[edit]
A map depicting the Local Arm, or Orion Spur, an ethereal spiral arm of the galaxy some 10,000 light years in length. 
The Empty Stars[edit]
The Empty Stars is a vast cluster of stars lying at the trailing end of the Local Arm.
- The region within the green circle is the Empty Stars.
- The region within the red circle is the Distant Fringe.
Distant Fringe Sectors[edit]
The Distant Fringe lies at the rimward edge of the Empty Stars, forming an isolated cluster called the Demon Cluster centered on a bright supergiant star called the Demon's Eye.
The Distant Fringe region and the Sectors that comprise it.
The Demon's Eye is an intensely luminous blue supergiant star that lies at the center of Far Home Sector. It can be clearly seen from every world across both the Distant Fringe and the Empty Stars. Why the Terrans, seeking to hide from their supposed Vilani pursuers, should choose to settle a region with such a bright beacon at its center is something of a mystery. Some hold that it proves that the Last Armada was at the very limit of its endurance and was forced to halt while others contend that the location was deliberately chosen in order to give stragglers somewhere to aim towards.
History & Background (Dossier)[edit]
The term "Fringian" is often applied to terms, equipment and events specific to the Distant Fringe.
Demographics[edit]
The total population of the Distant Fringe is around 127.1 billion sophonts: there are approximately 91.2 billion humans descended from Terran refugees who fled the Destruction of Terra at the hands of the Vilani Imperium, and approximately 35.9 billion members of native sophont species.
Native Sophonts[edit]
Trade and Commerce[edit]
Interstellar trade and commerce is the life-blood of the Distant Fringe and many large companies and businesses exist within the region. Full details and a comprehensive commercial directory can be found under Business Sectors.
Technology Overview[edit]
The Distant Fringe has a general maximum technological level of TL-12. Many polities have achieved TL:10-12, but a significant number have lower TL's.
- It is more advanced in some areas (specifically computers and robotics) but is more backward in others (such as Space Tech).
- Jump Technology: Jump drive technology within the Distant Fringe is limited to Jump-2, utilising the DeVoss Drive.
- Representative examples of starships and spacecraft used within the region can be found at Ships of the Distant Fringe.
Worlds & Sectors (Astrography)[edit]
This broad Astrographic region contains the following sectors (the "Distant Fringe proper"):
Distant Fringe:
- Abyss Sector
- Bourne Sector
- Chasm Sector
- Course Sector
- Deep Sector
- Divide Sector
- Extent Sector
- Fallow Sector
- Far Home Sector
- Gulf Sector
- Halcyon Sector
- Shadow Rift Sector
World Listing[edit]
The following systems and worlds are associated with this area:
References & Contributors (Sources)[edit]
- Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master Scout Emeritus Adie Alegoric Stewart of the IISS
- Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis), Captain, and Lead Naval Architect Ronald B. Kline, Jr. of the Imperial Navy
- Author & Contributor: Tom Chlebus
- Contributor: Bruno Vieira Barbosa Carneiro
- Formatting: Lord (Marquis) and Master of Sophontology Maksim-Smelchak of the Ministry of Science