Aspera (world)

Aspera/Miruu (Verge 2520)
Classic Era (1116)	X555975-4 Starport X No Starport Size 5 Medium (8,000 km, 0.40g - 0.57g) Atmosphere 5 Thin Hydrographics 5 Wet World 50% Population 9 High (3 billion) Government 7 Balkanization Law 5 Moderate Law (no concealable weapons) Tech Level 4 Industrial (combustion)
See also	UWP
System Details
Primary	M2 V
Planetoid Belts	0
Gas Giants	2

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Jump map from Travellermap.com

Aspera is a high-population world with a billion or more sophonts in population size.

• It is a member of the Third Imperium in the Miruu Subsector of Verge Sector in the Domain of Ilelish.
• This world is a "Twilight Zone World", a planet that is tidally-locked to its star. It has a hot side that permanently faces the star, a cold side that permanently faces away, and a narrow twilight zone in-between.
• It is a chilly tundra world, with a climate of low temperatures.
• This is a "low technology" world with technology competencies well below standard for Charted Space.
• This is a "forbidden" world designated as a Red Zone with an environment, laws, customs, life forms, or other conditions that make it extremely dangerous to visitors. Everyone is forbidden to travel here.

Description (Astrography & Planetology)

Stellar Data

Aspera has a solitary primary star.

• It is a red main sequence.

Aspera has a solitary primary star.

Primary
	Type	Category		Mass (Sol)	Temperature (K)	Luminosity
	M2 V	Main Sequence (Dwarf)		0.44	3470 - 3560	0.0565
	Unit	Diameter	Safe Distance	Habitable Zone	Jump Shadow	M-Drive Limit
	AU	0.0041	0.0197	0.25 - 0.48	0.41	4.1
	Orbit #	*	*	1	1	6
	Remarks		Unpredictable bouts of flare activity.

System Data

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

• The mainworld.
• x7 secondary rocky worlds.
• x2 gas giants.

Mainworld Data

Aspera is tidally locked to its primary star.

• The star is always high in the sky on the bright face, it hangs on horizon in the twilight zone, while the cold dark face is in permanent darkness.
• The world experiences libration - a regular wobble - as it orbits, causing the star to move in the sky.

It orbits towards the outer edge of its star's habitable zone.

• It receives relatively low levels of stellar energy.

Mainworld Size (S)

Aspera is a Meso World between 7,200km and 8,800km in diameter. The world has a standard gravity between 0.4G and 0.57G. The horizon will appear about 4km away.

Mainworld Atmosphere (A)

Aspera has a pressure of 0.43 to 0.70 atmospheres. The Thin Atmosphere does not require survival gear although it may be hard on sophonts not accustomed to it.

• It experiences low temperatures within the twilight zone.

Mainworld Hydrosphere (H)

Aspera has 45-55% of its surface covered by liquid water. Wilderness refueling is possible.

• The twilight zone is littered with pack ice and icebergs.
• The dark side of the world is covered in an unstable crust of frost and fractured ice.

Mainworld Geography and Topography

No centrally held map of the world exists within AAB Library Data records.

• Locally, detailed maps may be available.

(Blank map, predominantly dry world.)

Native Lifeforms

Abundant, diverse native life filling every available ecological niche. Its metabolic functions drive the process of atmospheric renewal.

• Native life appears to have evolved independently on the dayside and on the nightside.

History & Background (Dossier)

Aspera is a Forbidden World and is designated as a Red Zone. It presents serious risks and dangers due to the environment or native life forms, laws or customs, or other conditions that make it extremely dangerous to visitors.

• Travel to this world is prohibited.

The system's star experiences periodic bouts of flare activity, which causes interference, strange tones and noises, and heavy static on commo and sensors.

• During major outbursts of flare activity radiation levels within the system are dangerously high.
• Exposure to elevated radiation levels causes serious health issues and may damage unshielded electronic devices.

Aspera is a chilly world locked around an ancient ember of a star and shows signs of having evolved life at least twice. It now hosts Humaniti as well.

The fossil record here, investigated over centuries during the Long Night, revealed that the night side and light side lifeforms here were completely unrelated but each had extensive fossil records as well as modern living examples. Hints that this included not one but two native sophonts were broadly ignored for centuries. Then, as the Third Imperium expanded into the region in the 100s, both of the sophont species emerged from hiding, engaging each other and the now native Humans in first skirmishes then all out war. The dayside Vinit-nar were almost ethereal photovores with local group minds, appearing as translucent sheets and blobs in the skies and capable of transforming the overwhelming sunlight into coherent form, effectively infrared lasers fired from the clear sky. An unknown event had driven them far into the parched dayside or into buried hibernation before humans arrived. In both states they were incapable of rational thought, which required a specific amount of solar energy to maintain without slipping into an ecstatic and overwhelmed state, or sleep.

Meanwhile, the nightside Calat-nir, deep sub-ice swimmers and powerfully psionic, had also been dreaming away the millennia, ignoring the buzzing minds of Humaniti above, at least at first.

The event or set of coincidences that made both aware of Humaniti are unknown, but when the Third Imperium arrived it found an ongoing war. What little surviving technology the humans of Aspera had possessed was being destroyed from both directions, and Imperial attempts to assist were fired upon or attacked psionically. When communications were attained with the Calat-nir, they conveyed implacable hatred of all others. From those communications come the only known name for the Vinit-nar, as communications were never attained with them. Unable to broker peace, or even land uncontested, the Third Imperium backed off and interdicted the world in 223. Within the next century a safe distance around the world was empirically determined, and this is still enforced. The remainder of the system is available for ships to pass through, but squatters and loiterers are actively discouraged by a Naval presence.

World Starport (St)

Aspera does not have a starport. The Class X Starport is an indication that no starport exists in the system. There are no facilities or services available, and no site marked for landing.

World Population (P)

Aspera has a population of 3,000,000,000 sophonts (billions).

• High Population Worlds like this tend to have huge consumer markets.

The world is home to three races:

• Humaniti of mixed Solomani-Vilani descent.
• Vinit-nar, native sophonts inhabiting the dayside.
• Calat-nir, native sophonts inhabiting the nightside oceans.

Neither the Vinit-nar or the Calat-nir are officially recognised by the IISS as sophonts, instead being classified as "undetermined". As such, they are not currently denoted on astrographic surveys. Desoite this, their current known populations are counted as part of the worlds total population.

World Technology Level (T)

Aspera possesses a Technology Level of TL–4.

• Common Communication technologies for this TL include: Telephone and telegraphs, widespread printing.
• Common Power Generation technologies for this TL include: Early electricity, hydrocarbon internal combustion.
• Common Transportation technologies for this TL include:
  • Land: Trains and early automobiles.
  • Water: Clippers and steam ships.
  • Air: Dirigibles, balloons, very basic rockets.

World Government (G)

Aspera has a Balkanized Government. There is no central world government. The world has several governments competing for control of the world. These may be allies, cooperating, competitors, or at war with each other.

The modern situation on Aspera is one of punctuated cold war. There are several Human states arranged around the twilight region of the world, now as distrustful of each other as they are of the demons of the night and bright lands that flank them. Attempts to discover and grasp resources they know are in those lands sometimes succeed, and other times attract the Vinit-nar or the Calat-nir into reprisals. Careful Imperial observations have so far found no reason to lift the interdiction.

World Law (L)

Aspera has a moderate level with laws covering many areas of government and interaction. These laws are simple enough that most people can act as their own advocate, though for serious issues a professional is recommended. Law enforcement officials will be present, but not in great numbers. Personal concealable firearms, and anything more destructive, are typically regulated or prohibited.

Trade Data

• Importance: -1 (unimportant)

World Economy

• Resources: B (abundant)
• Labor: 8 (hundreds of millions)
• Infrastructure: 6 (limited)
• Efficiency: -3 (poor)

World Culture

• Heterogenity: 7 (discordant)
• Acceptance: 8 (friendly)
• Strangeness: 3 (somewhat typical)
• Symbols: 2 (very concrete)

World Timeline

Major events that have affected this world and the wider region that it lies within:

• -4045 to -2204: the Ziru Sirka claims and settles worlds across the region.
• -2404 to -2215: the Interstellar Wars.
• -2204 to -1776: the Rule of Man administers the worlds of the region.
• -1776 to 0: the Long Night. There is widespread regression within the area. Aspera retains a human population throughout the period.
• The Year 0: the Third Imperium is founded.
• ca 100: the Imperium recontacts the world.
• 300-420: the First Survey charts the system.
• 604 to 622: the Imperial Civil War. The region suffers disruption and widespread economic issues.
• 624: the Express Boat Network is established, facilitating communications, trade, and economic growth within the area.
• 995-1065: the Second Survey charts the system.
• 1065: the Second Survey is published. Information about the system becomes widely available.

References & Contributors (Sources)

This article is missing content for one or more detailed sections. Additional details are required to complete the article. You can help the Traveller Wiki by expanding it.

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. Aslan (Game Designers Workshop, 1984), IBC. (Sector named but no further data)
• Jim Cunningham, John Harshman, J. Andrew Keith, Marc W. Miller, Gordon Sheridan. Atlas of the Imperium (Game Designers Workshop, 1984), 19.
• James Holden, Joe D. Fugate Sr., Terrance McInnes. Vilani & Vargr (Digest Group Publications, 1990), 11. (Ziru Sirka worlds: dot map provided)
• Peter G. Celella, James Holden. Solomani & Aslan (Digest Group Publications, 1991), 50. (Dot map provided)