Swarm (world)

Swarm/Talpaku (Yiklerzdanzh 0229)
Classic Era (1116)	B000310-B Starport B Good: Spacecraft Construction, Overhaul, Refined fuel Size 0 Asteroid/Planetoid Belt Atmosphere 0 Vacuum Hydrographics 0 Desert World 0% Population 3 Low (7 thousand) Government 1 Company/Corporation Law 0 No Law Tech Level B Average Stellar (large starships)
See also	UWP
System Details
Primary	K3 IV D
Planetoid Belts	0
Gas Giants	3

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Swarm is a ring of many small worldlets (planetoids AKA an "asteroid belt"), not capable of retaining an atmosphere or water, and is also a low-population vacuum environment with a population of less than 10,000 sophonts, warranting hazardous environment precautions.

• Life in a vacuum requires great discipline. After all, it only takes one forgotten seal on a vacuum suit to spell death. Those who survive tend to be very methodically-minded and attentive to small detail.
• It is a member of the Talpaku Communality in the Talpaku Subsector of Yiklerzdanzh Sector.

• Vacuum worlds have no climate, but experience extreme differences in temperature between direct starlight and shade.

Description (Astrography & Planetology)

Stellar Data

Swarm is a binary star system.

• The primary is an unstable white subgiant.
• The secondary is a white dwarf stellar remnant.

Swarm has two stars in the star system.

Swarm
	Type	Category		Mass (Sol)	Temperature (K)	Luminosity
	F3 IV	Subgiant		2.2	6500 - 7000	14.8
	Unit	Diameter	Safe Distance	Habitable Zone	Jump Shadow	M-Drive Limit
	AU	0.02457	0.31909	3.06 - 4.99	2.457	24.57
	Orbit #	*	1	6	5	8
	Remarks		It produces high levels of EM noise.
Swarm
	Type	Category		Mass (Sol)	Temperature (K)	Luminosity
	D	White Dwarf		0.53	6800 - 6800	0
	Unit	Diameter	Safe Distance	Habitable Zone	Jump Shadow	M-Drive Limit
	AU	0.00011	0.00168	0 - 0.03	0.011	0.11
	Orbit #	*	*	*	*	0
	Remarks		None

System Data

The worlds of the system have been partially surveyed. They consist of:

• The mainworld.
• An unknown number of secondary rocky worlds.
• x3 gas giants.

Mainworld Data

Swarm is an asteroid belt mainworld.

The belt orbits within the prime region of its star's habitable zone.

• It receives moderate levels of stellar energy.

Mainworld Size (S)

Swarm is an Asterioid Belt or Planetoid Belt consisting of a few very large objects with diameters of hundreds of kilometers, thousands of bodies of a few kilometers in diameter, and millions of smaller objects. Asteroid Belt is used when the belt is the mainworld of a system. Planetoid Belt refers to any non-mainworld belt within a system.

Mainworld Atmosphere (A)

None of the bodies within the Swarm belt retain an atmosphere.

• The belt is in vacuum conditions, requiring the use of a Vacc Suit.
• TL–8 or more advanced survival gear is required to settle this world.

Mainworld Hydrosphere (H)

The Swarm belt contains a few icy bodies. A few belt objects have frozen volatiles on their surfaces.

• Wilderness refueling is possible within the belt, provided a suitable icy object can be found.
• Water for the inhabitants is generally imported and is extensively recycled.

Mainworld Geography and Topography

No centrally held chart of the belt exists within AAB Library Data records.

• Locally, detailed maps may be available.

(Placeholder chart, asteroid belt.)

History & Background (Dossier)

The giant primary star causes interference, strange tones and noises, and heavy static on commo and sensors.

World Starport (St)

Swarm has a Class B Starport, a good 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 most kinds of repair, and construction of non-starships. Most ports of this classification have both a Highport and a Downport.

World Population (P)

Swarm has a population of 7,000 sophonts (thousands).

• This is a Low Population World and the population would be too low to sustain itself without a little outside assistance. This may represent the home base of a sizable but mostly transient population such as the base of a major starship expedition, the last generation of a dying colony, the first generation of a new colony, or a large outpost that will probably evolve into a colony if not stopped.
• The population almost entirely consists of Vlazhdumecta humans.
• The population almost entirely consists of Talpaku.
• A few humans and other sophonts may be encountered.

Urbanization

A number of outposts tunneled into large rocky planetoids.

• Small facilities exist on other rocky bodies.
• Structures and facilities are sealed.

Linguistic Topography

Talpaku, a language comprised of whistles and clicks, is commonly used on the world.

• Talpaku cannot vocalize human sound, and even the most skilled humans can only poorly imitate spoken Talpaku.
• Language Translators are widely used for inter-species communication.

World Technology Level (T)

Swarm possesses a Technology Level of TL–11 or TL-B in Hexadecimal Notation.

• Common Communication technologies for this TL include: Holovision, Personal Global Communications, and advanced Translators.
• Common Power Generation technologies for this TL include: Increasingly advanced fusion plants and advanced fuel cells.
• Common Transportation technologies for this TL include:
  • Land, Water & Air: Personal G-Tubes and advanced gravcraft.
  • Space: Advanced interplanetary spacecraft (System Craft).
  • FTL: Jump Drive-2.

World Government (G)

Swarm is governed by a Corporate Polity, having a single corporation with a typical corporate structure as a government. Essentially, this is a "company town" (or world). The typical corporate-run world usually has a single purpose. Examples include mining, agriculture, or other kinds of resource extraction. But rather than a simple base of operations, there are facilities for housing workers and their families, including hospitals, schools, and other infrastructure. How, or if, the children of the workers are incorporated into the workforce varies with companies. The corporation running the world may be a subsidiary of a larger interstellar corporation.

World Law (L)

Swarm has no law in practice. It is an Anarchy. On many worlds, this by itself justifies an Amber Zone advisory. There are few laws, covering only important areas. There may be few or no law enforcement officers, the expectation is citizens will bring law breakers to the attention of the Judicial system. Legal proceedings will be fast, with few people involved. For interactions outside of the framework of the laws, cultural norms dominate.

World Economy

Each world in the Talpaku Communality has its own currency, the values of which fluctuate against each other according to economic circumstances.

There is a "reference" unit of currency called the kuyo, which is used by the Communality government, by multistellar companies, and for transactions between individuals and companies on different worlds.

World Culture

The world lies within the Zhodani Shadow, a region strongly influenced by the society and culture of the Zhodani Consulate.

World Timeline

• 300-420: the First Survey charts the system.
• 995-1065: the Second Survey charts the system.
• 1065: the Second Survey is published.

References & Contributors (Sources)

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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 Mongoose Publishing or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.

• J. Andrew Keith, Marc Miller, John Harshman. Zhodani (Game Designers Workshop, 1985), IBC. (sector named but no further data)
• Author/s & Contributor/s: David Schneider & Grant Sinclair of the HIWG in Australia
• Grant Sinclair, "Contact! Talpaku", Alien Realms Volume 3, Issue 1, (1993), Pages 1-15, via HIWG
• EXTERNAL LINK The Talpaku (1995)
• Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master Scout Emeritus Adie Alegoric Stewart of the IISS