Glisten (world)

Glisten/Glisten (Spinward Marches 2036) Milieu 1116 A000986-F Starport A Excellent: Starship Construction, Overhaul, Refined fuel Size 0 Asteroid/Planetoid Belt Atmosphere 0 Vacuum Hydrographics 0 Desert World 0% Population 9 High (8 billion) Government 8 Civil Service Bureaucracy Law 6 Moderate Law (no firearms except shotguns) Tech Level F High Stellar (anagathics)
See also	UWP
style="width: 220px; height: 250px;" Jump map from Travellermap.com
System Details
Primary	K9 V
Worlds	13
Gas Giants	1
Planetoid Belts	1
Cultural Details
Government	Civil service bureaucracy
Law Level	Moderate
Cultural Extension	8E4E
Army Size (BEs)	500
Economic Details
Technology Level	15
Economic Extension	D8H+4 Resources D Very abundant Labor 8 Moderate (800 million) Infrastructure H Very comprehensive Efficiency +4 Advanced
Importance Extension	5
Resource Units	7,072
GWP (BCr)	134,400
World Trade Number	6
Trade Volume (MCr/year)	408,524
Starport Details
Classification	Class-A
Port Size	6
Building Capacity (Tons)	8,800,000
Port employees	50,085
Port passengers (annual)	567,700

Glisten has the population located in one or more dwarf planets or planetesimals in a co-orbital position, an asteroid belt. The system has a population over one billion. It has a well-developed manufacturing and processing industries. This system serves as the capital for the subsector. This is a high technology world with available technology over the standards for Charted Space. It is a member of Third Imperium in the Glisten Subsector of Spinward Marches Sector and in the Domain of Deneb. Glisten, as a member world of the Third Imperium, holds the estate of an Imperial knight and the fiefdoms of a count and the Subsector duke. All three are members of the Imperial Nobility charged with overseeing the world. The system supports both an Imperial Naval Base and a Scout Base with the additional starship traffic.

Astrography & Planetology

Glisten is a member of the Spinward Main. Glisten lies on the Glisten Arm.

Glisten is one of the major high-tech industrial centers of the Marches and consists of a number of separate planetoid cities, most of which specialize in a particular industry or social role.

Monostellar System

Glisten Monostellar System

Star Name	Hierarchy	Category		Mass (Sol)	Temp (K)	Luminosity (Sol)
Gliss K9 V	Primary	Main Sequence		0.5052	2900 - 3700	0.048
	Unit	Diameter	Min Distance	Hab Zone	Jump Shadow	M-Drive Limit
	AU	0.00514	0.01817	0.17 - 0.28	0.514	5.14
	Orbit #	*	*	0	1	6

System Data

Information about the Glisten system can be found here.

The Glisten system is centered on the star Gliss. It has a single gas giant, Nasmi, and no rocky planets. There are two planetoid belts, of which one is designated as the mainworld. This belt is home to most of the system’s population, who would not normally refer to themselves as Belters. That term carries with it connotations of small mining habitats and semi–nomadic prospectors whereas the people of Glisten live in large cities. The fact that their homeworld happens to be a belt does not give them any sort of kinship with Belters proper – and most ‘real’ Belters would agree wholeheartedly.

Mainworld Data

Glisten contains two asteroid belts, the Glisten Belt and the Pluvis Belt, circling the Gliss. Although both are highly populated, the Glisten Belt is designated as the mainworld.

Mainworld Size

Sub-planets in the main Gliss Belt and the Pluvis Belt typically have diameters of less than 1000 km; the minimum size to achieve a spherical shape is approximately 600 km, depending on the mineral mixture of its composition. Bodies between 60 km and 600 km tend to be a bit 'lumpy' or irregular in shape, with those smaller than 60 km tending to be radially non-symmetric.

History & Background (Dossier)

Glisten is the collective name for a large number of settlements in the inner planetoid belt orbiting a solitary star; a center of commerce and industry—not just for the subsector, but for the entire Spinward Marches. The name derives from one of the early and primary settlements on the asteroid named Gliss Ten.

The Naval Base is the headquarters of the 100th Fleet.

Imperial Landed Nobility (N)

Glisten, as a member world of the Third Imperium, holds the estates of three members of the Imperial Nobility, who are charged with overseeing the world.

• It holds the estate of an Imperial knight.
• It holds the fiefdom of an Imperial count.
• It holds the fiefdom of an Imperial subsector duke.
• See: Nobles of Glisten

World Starport (Sp)

Glisten has a Class A Starport, an excellent quality installation which includes all the expected amenities including refined fuel for starships, brokerage services for passengers and cargo, and a variety of ship provisions. There is a shipyard capable of doing annual maintenance, overhauls and other kinds of repair, and construction of both starships and non-starships. Most ports of this classification have both a Highport and a Downport.

The words “highport” and “lowport” don’t apply to Glisten. Instead of the usual paring of a large planetary base and orbital station, the subsector capital’s starport is a cluster of asteroids. Such a port is known as a "beltport". This allows it to be just as large as any other class A lowport, yet still be able to service starships that lack landing capabilities.

World Government (G)

Glisten is governed by a Civil Service Bureaucracy. The leadership of the government is another form (democracy, dictatorship, oligarchy), but the bureaucracy leadership influences policy. The government leadership may select the bureaucracy leadership, but not its membership. Usually the governmental leadership is divided, or incapable of setting policy and the bureaucracy provides a stabilizing influence. The bureaucracy may be the full government bureaucracy or a section with limited jurisdiction but considerable influence like the military. Glisten serves as the Imperial Subsector capital.

World Timeline

609: Glisten joins the Imperium

Other Data

The population of the Glisten system numbers in the billions, housed in large cities built on asteroids all through the belt. Each city has its own administrative apparatus, all of which ultimately form part of the efficient but dull Glisten Coordinating Authority, a civil service government that runs the system as a whole. Laws are moderate but with so many settlements, housing vast numbers of people, scattered across the entire system, a rather stodgy administration has emerged with a fair amount of red tape wrapped around almost any activity.

The capital of the system is Glisten City, a huge metropolis that grew out of the much smaller Gliss Ten settlement chosen as administrative center for the system long ago. Glisten City is the site of the huge starport and serves as the main center for trade and business of all kinds as well as the administrative capital. Many other cities are fairly specialized in their industrial or social activities.

There are several cities each specializing in agriculture, light and heavy industry, and even an artists’ colony. However this is not taken to extremes. Almost all settlements have some industry, some food production and some technical capabilities. There are a number of more general settlements, but these are of much lesser economic importance than the great centers for trade and industry.

With its large industrial complexes and extremely high tech level, Glisten is an important exporter of technological goods across the sector and beyond. Its shipyards are widely renowned, most are located in the outer belt, named the Pluvis Belt.

Among the installations there are an enormous yard owned and operated by Ling-Standard Products as well as smaller and more specialized shipbuilders such as Bilstein Yards.

The Pluvis Belt is also the site of Glisten’s naval base, home port of the subsector fleet. The immediate region around the base is a restricted area and is heavily patrolled, with sensor outposts constructed on a number of asteroids to give better coverage.

Glisten also has an extensive Scout base, which is located in the main belt near the starport. In addition to a huge fleet of cutters dedicated to the ongoing effort to chart and catalogue every asteroid in the belts, the base is home to the usual flotilla of communications and exploration vessels.

The Glisten system attracts large numbers of students to its academic institutions, which include the Glisten Institute of Planetological Studies (GLIPS) and the Mining School of Glisten, which is associated with GLIPS but autonomous.

The Mining School receives funding from several corporate and Megacorporate sources, which offer scholarships for promising students in the prospecting, extraction, processing and management disciplines. Ex–students are recruited in large numbers by mining corporations across the sector.

The Glisten Institute of Planetological Studies is one of the largest universities in the sector. One of GLIPS’ major fields of studies is geneering. As such, a few hundred Jonkeereen are employed here at all times for study by researchers and students alike. Most of the Jonkeereen originate on Callia or Melior —though the Imperial Ministry of Colonization is sometimes prickly about GLIPS “stealing its Melioran Jonkeereen.”

There is also a community of what could be called true Belters within the system. Although not officially part of Glisten’s population and not counted among it, the Belters are subject to local laws while they are in–system and most are willing to comply. However, there are groups who routinely ignore comm–channel restrictions, traffic control instructions and other governmental rules which are considered very important by the people and government of Glisten.

References & Contributors (Sources)

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.

• Marc Miller. The Spinward Marches (Game Designers Workshop, 1979), 26-27.
• Marc Miller. The Spinward Marches Campaign (Game Designers Workshop, 1985), 18-19.
• Marc Miller. Imperial Encyclopedia (Game Designers Workshop, 1987), 94-100. (UWP only)
• Rob Caswell. "A Guide to the Domain of Deneb." MegaTraveller Journal 1 (1991): .
• Rob Caswell. "Domain of Deneb: Sector Data." MegaTraveller Journal 3 (1992): 47-58. (UWP only)
• Dave Nilsen. The Regency Sourcebook (Game Designers Workshop, 1995), 50-51.
• Martin Dougherty, Neil Frier. Behind the Claw (Steve Jackson Games, 1998), 98.
• James Maliszewski. Planetary Survey 4: Glisten (Steve Jackson Games, 2001), 3-24.
• Hans Rancke-Madsen, "The Outrim Frontier." JTAS Online (June 19, 2007)
• Mike West. The Spinward States (Avenger Enterprises, 2008), 114. (UWP only)
• Martin Dougherty. The Spinward Marches (Mongoose Publishing, 2008), .
• Shannon Appelcline, "Aliens of the Marches: The Jonkeereen", Freelance Traveller 023 (November 2011)
• Martin Dougherty. Behind the Claw (Mongoose Publishing, 2019), 128-132.
• Nick Pendrell - Glisten Library data from Mustered Out on Mertactor website wiki
• Contributor: MIMIC - Minor Imp of the Ministry of Information and Communication