Ern Arnets

Professor Ern Arnets, Ansara Temple

At Home

Within the Imperial Empty Quarter, there are two surviving populations of Jonkeereen: the population on Gasadim (Empty Quarter 1635) is quite conservative, but the larger population on Lukaau (Empty Quarter 0227) is simply reactionary. Both work well with each other, but they depend on Vilani and Bwap traders to maintain a trickle of news and visitors between each other.56 There has been several petitions to previous Sector Dukes to relocate their people out of the hostile sector before theinevitable Last Bombardment strikes: time will tell if the Bwap now on the throne will listen and act before it’s too late.

Arnets himself was born in the Lukaau group; something of a prodigy, he was groomed for a leadership position for his tribe. All of the Jonkeer tribes within the Imperial Empty Quarter are desert nomads, but Arnets received his education via electronic devices, data networks and the occasional tutor. He won a corporate scholarship and studied interstellar macroeconomics, eventually earning a doctorate.

Challenging the Sun

While working as a freelancer economic consultant for those fearless Imperial corporations daring to extend their reach into the Six Subsectors, he investigated the roots of the then-building Solomani Rim War, and decided that it has nothing to do with the moralistic veneer of Solomani mistreatment of non-humans, and everything to do with Imperial Core megacorporate interests longing to expand into the closed, yet fabulously wealthy Solomani Rim markets. Feeling that broadcasting this message would help reduce hostilities between his people and the hard-edged Solomani population that strongly shapes the Six Subsectors, the Professor made his attitude and feelings very clear.

This message resonated well with the Solomani population of the Imperial Empty Quarter. It resonated so well, that the Imperium arrested Professor Arnets on charges of subversion and treason. Due to the incompetence of the guards, though, Arnets was able to escape and was next spotted in Yashodhan (Empty Quarter 2635), teaching at Ansara Temple, the premiere educational institution of the planet. The Imperium placed diplomatic pressure on the nation of Thesh Matri to turn him over, which was rejected. Instead of ordering an intervention, the Imperium instead had interstellar news agencies simply drop Professor Arnes and everything he said down the memory hole.

Alone

The Professor is happy with the hospitality of the Thesh Matri, and most of the Yashodhani are happy to support a gesture of independence against the exceedingly powerful Third Imperium. However, the Professor feels that he is fast becoming yesterday’s news, and dislikes being associated with the Solomani Party (which would be more than happy to put the Jonkeereen minor humans ‘in their proper place). More importantly, he is very homesick, and is acutely aware of his responsibilities to his people: Arnets is the only professor among the Jonkeereen in the Empty Quarter, and his deep knowledge and wisdom is greatly missed in tribal circles. Perhaps he should not have ‘meddled in matters above his station’, as the Imperial Aristocracy would put it, and stuck with caring for his people.

The Troubled Road Ahead

Perhaps the Travellers are able to sneak this wanted man back to his homeworld. Or maybe the Solomani Party will make a concession for this alien Friend of the Race, and insure that his people are sheltered and favored so long as Professor Arnets continues to stir the pot against the Imperium. Or a team from one of the local, mutually-hostile Imperial secret services – desperate to win the favor of the very powerful, very demanding and very lethal Princess Elizabeth – is on its way, to pull off a kidnap and rendition of the traitor back to Imperial Space.

While most Yashodhani are Hindu, they lack any great enmity to the Jonkeer, seeing them as an exotic priesthood, rather than a corruption of the human person, and thus a defilement of the caste system. But there are various racially- and religiously-motivated individuals within the Six Subsectors who would like to make an example of the Professor given the opportunity, be they Darwinian atheists, pure animists, monotheistic believers, or polytheistic devotees.

Time will tell what actually happens.

References and Contributors

This list of sources was used by the Traveller Wiki Editorial Team and individual contributors to compose this article. Copyrighted material is used under license from Far Future Enterprises or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.

• Alvin Plummer. "Personality Profiles III." Stellar Reaches 24 (2014): 44.

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