Askyat (world)

From Traveller Wiki - Science-Fiction Adventure in the Far future
Jump to navigation Jump to search
The printable version is no longer supported and may have rendering errors. Please update your browser bookmarks and please use the default browser print function instead.
Askyat/Void (Zarushagar 0140)
Classic Era (1116)
B665835-A
StarportB Good: Spacecraft Construction, Overhaul, Refined fuel
Size6 Medium (9,600 km, 0.60g - 0.81g)
Atmosphere6 Standard
Hydrographics5 Wet World 50%
Population8 Moderate (800 million)
Government3 Self-Perpetuating Oligarchy
Law5 Moderate Law (no concealable weapons)
Tech LevelA Early Stellar (jump drive)
See also UWP
System Details
Primary F2 V M6 V
Planetoid Belts 1
Gas Giants 4
style="width: 220px; height: 250px;"
Jump map from Travellermap.com [1]

Askyat is a pre-agricultural, moderate population rich garden world with over a hundred million, but not yet at a billion sophonts in population size.

  • Garden worlds are known for their near-ideal utopian environments conducive to most sophonts, plants, animals, and other forms of life.
  • It is a pre-agricultural world with an environment suitable for large scale agricultural and livestock industries that have not yet been widely developed.
  • This is a rich world with a prosperous and thriving world economy.
  • Its economy and population are rapidly growing and living conditions are expected to quickly rise barring outside forces.
  • It is a Non-Aligned world dominated by human sophonts located in the Void (Za M) Subsector of Zarushagar Sector.
  • This world is also known as Wagner

Description (Astrography & Planetology)

  • Askyat is located in the Void subsector of Zarushagar, on the rimward/trailing spur of the Great Rift. The closest major world is Warinir (Daibei 0507). It can be reached only through the use of a Jump-4 drive (or multiple successive smaller jumps) and even then only by passing through the Imperial client state of Havre (Zarushagar 0338). A six-parsec gulf to spinward has kept it from being colonized by Aslan, and its remote location has allowed it to remain non-aligned.


Binary Solar System

Askyat Binary Star System
Star Name Hierarchy Category Mass (Sol) Temp (K) Luminosity (Sol)
Askyat

F2 V

 Primary Main Sequence 1.46 6750 - 6820 3.76041
Unit Diameter Min Distance Hab Zone Jump Shadow M-Drive Limit
AU 0.0075 0.1608 1.73 - 3 0.75 7.5
Orbit #  * 0 5 2 6
Remarks
Askyat’s spectral class F2V primary star is bright white and produces more ultraviolet radiation than is well tolerated by Humans. As a result, Humans usually wear sunglasses outdoors and take care to protect themselves against sunburn. This is part of the reason that Human settlements are in the northern temperate and arctic zones. Askyat orbits its primary at 2.8 AU every 1397.28 standard days. The world has a minimal 2.4 degree axial tilt with no notable orbital eccentricity. Due to the long orbital period and minimal seasonal shift, the population generally ignores the local year and uses the standard Imperial year instead. Askyat rotates on its axis every 23 hours, 11 minutes and 59 seconds.
Star Name Hierarchy Category Mass (Sol) Temp (K) Luminosity (Sol)
Askyat

M6 V

 Secondary Main Sequence 0.102 2740 - 2810 0.00034
Unit Diameter Min Distance Hab Zone Jump Shadow M-Drive Limit
AU 0.0006 0.0015 0.02 - 0.04 0.06 0.6
Orbit #  *  *  *  * 2
Remarks
The second star in the Askyat system, Askyat Secundius, is a far companion to the primary. It is visible from the surface of Askyat as the brightest star in the sky.

System Importance (Ix)

This world has an Importance Extension (Ix): of 3 (Ordinary).

  • (The Importance Extension (Ix) ranks worlds within a region. It governs the locations of capitals and trade routes.)

Mainworld Data

Mainworld Size (S)

This world has a Planetary Size of 6.

  • Askyat is a molten core body, 10,053 km in diameter. Density is a typical 0.98 standard. Askyat has a mass 41% of Terra’s and maintains a surface gravity of 0.735G.

Mainworld Atmosphere (A)

This world has a pressure of 0.71 to 1.49 atmospheres. A Standard Atmosphere does not require survival gear and will likely be easy for most sophonts to breathe.

  • Askyat’s atmosphere is a breathable mix of 20% Oxygen, 78% Nitrogen and 2% trace gasses. Mean surface pressure is 95 kpa. The base mean temperature at sea level is 15 degrees centigrade, making it slightly warmer than Terra.

Mainworld Hydrosphere (H)

This world has a Hydrosphere of 5.

  • Askyat has one substantial sea made up of salt water covering 51% of the world’s surface, including most of the Southern hemisphere.

Mainworld Satellites (H)

Askyat has two satellites, the larger and nearer Tristan, and the further and smaller Isolde. Tristan is a solid core body, 3715 km in diameter. It is tidally locked with Askyat, and Askyat is nearly tidally locked with Tristan. The moon orbits Askyat every 23 hours, which is similar to Askyat’s 23.2 hour day. As a result, Tristan has a minimal progression across the sky and appears to observers on the ground to hang in one place compared to the star field. From any given point on the world, Tristan is visible for 110 days at a time, during which it proceeds slowly across the sky from east to west then disappears for 110 days.

Tristan is a desert; its surface is covered in fine, dusty sand which blows constantly around the planet. The atmosphere is an oxygen-nitrogen mix at a pressure between 40 and 70 kpa, and would be breathable except for the excessive particulate matter. Attempting to breathe without a filter mask results in respiratory distress after only a few breaths. Despite the low atmospheric pressure, Tristan’s entire surface is swept by constant windstorms with static electrical discharges. These are most powerful at the equator ranging from 50-100 kph and less so at the poles ranging from 25-50 kph above 60 degrees latitude. This is subject to significant local variation as storm systems form and subside based on the density of the particulate matter. These storms cause constant shifting in the features of Tristan, as viewed from Askyat, leading observers to see geometric patterns and pareidolic images on its surface.

Isolde is a solid core body, 3281 km in diameter. It has an orbital period of 28.67 days and orbits at a much greater distance than Tristan. Isolde is a featureless gray rock with a trace atmosphere of mainly nitrogen and no usable mineral deposits. It is the third brightest object in the Askyati night sky after Tristan and Askyat Secundius.

Mainworld Geography & Topography

No information yet available.

Mainworld Map

No information yet available.

Native Lifeforms

Life on Askyat developed along different lines than in most of Charted Space. All single-celled, plant, and animal life native to the world has a genetic code made up of glycol-based nucleic acid (GNA) rather than the more common RNA or DNA. This results in a biosphere that produces protein and sugar analogues that are different from those commonly encountered on other worlds. Despite the difference in genetic encoding, Askyat has a developed biosphere that passed through all the typical periods of evolution. There are bacteria, protozoa, plants, insects and complex animals on Askyat which are unique to the world, but not particularly unusual from external observation.

Photosynthetic life on Askyat utilizes different pigments in place of chlorophyll, and as a result, most foliage displays shades of blue. This could be a responsive adaptation to the spectrum of the local primary or more indirectly due to selection pressure from animal and insect life with a blue-shifted visual range. More than half of the plant species and nearly all of the large point producers are apomictic, resulting in large swaths of territory with genetically identical tree colonies. Many species depend on animals to propagate seeds from fruit, but flowering plants are unusual, with only six varieties known across the planet.

Animal life on Askyat comes in seven basic body types. Even animals on Askyat tend to reproduce asexually. Macroscopic aquatic animal life is made up of only three broad classes of organisms, two of which are parthenogenetic and the third hermaphroditic. Two classes of terrestrial animals, analogous to insects and amphibians, are exclusively parthenogenetic, and many other individual families switch to a parthenogenetic mode under certain circumstances. Those animals that reproduce sexually have a widely varied number of genders, between two and thirteen, with different reproductive strategies based on the interactions among them.

Due to these circumstances, it is evident that sexual reproduction evolved late on Askyat, and through multiple evolutionary events. As a result, there have been fewer chances for genetic mutation and fewer incidences of speciation than in most biospheres. Askyat has relatively low biodiversity when compared with other worlds of similar age and environment. Whether this is related to the unusual genetic encoding is unknown, but currently a matter under study.

Because all life native to Askyat is based on GNA, most DNA-based life, including Humans and Droyne, are unable to obtain any kind of nutritional benefit from the consumption of native biomass. Conversely, local animals and reducers, and even bacteria, are incapable of digesting DNA-based life.

The Droyne addressed the consumption problem in ancient times by perfecting a method of food preparation that enabled them to consume the local flora and fauna in much the same way as the Vilani overcame their inability to digest the native life of Vland. Notably, this preparation method is entirely dependent on a single organism, a unique DNA-based fungus (armaliomycotina askyata) that is able to render GNA-based biological material into a form that is digestible by the Droyne and, coincidentally, by Humans. In a process superficially similar to fermentation or pickling, the Droyne are able to prepare foodstuffs of various types and flavors through different techniques. The Droyne have several different names for the fungus and processes associated with this conversion. These processes have been formally ritualized, as have many other social procedures in Droyne society.

When Humans came to Askyat during the Long Night, they quickly discovered that imported DNA-based plants could grow perfectly well on Askyat. The alien nature of the native life meant that the imports had no competition for soil nutrients and were not consumed by native insects. Similarly, Human livestock brought to Askyat could not eat the local plant life, but would not suffer predation from local carnivores either. This was found to be true all the way down to the level of bacteria. Local GNA-bacteria couldn’t consume imported RNA-bacteria or compete for the same ecological niches. As a result, Askyat has developed parallel biospheres. Humans, their imported plants and animals, and their microbiome interact in only minimal ways with the native life. The only competition between the parallel biospheres is for physical space, sunlight, or water resources.

With long casual association between the two cultures, Humans were exposed to the Droyne methods of food preparation. They were capable of digesting the fungal-rendered Droyne food, which they call “slurry”, but did not find it palatable. However, they were more than willing to accept slurry for use in feeding imported livestock. In the last century or so, Human culture has been exploring various forms of flavored slurry as a sort of “rediscovered” health food. Concurrently, many Droyne, have taken to growing and consuming Human-imported species, mostly fruit, nuts, and spices. Although many Droyne have largely abandoned the consumption of slurry, they still undertake the rituals associated with its production. But within the last century, more than one Droyne oytrip has abandoned its ritualized slurry preparation in favor of industrialized production of the material for export to Humans, and this exchange represents the largest single commercial trade relationship between the species.

History & Background (Dossier)

Askyat was settled by Droyne in prehistoric times. The agency by which the Droyne arrived and the exact date of their arrival is unknown, but it was at least prior to the First Imperium. There is evidence that approximately ten thousand years ago the Droyne of Askyat were operating an advanced civilization, including the use of gravitic drives and clean fusion power (TL–10). However, there is also evidence that this technological Droyne society existed alongside a more pastoral pre-industrial (TL–4) society with a significantly larger population. At some later point, these two cultures merged. The advanced stellar technology was retained, but no wide-scale industry or manufacturing was present. This was the state of the Askyati Droyne when they were first contacted by Humans.

The Vilani Empire had charted Askyat through long-range observatories and noted indications that there might be one or more habitable worlds in the system. There were indications that they intended to scout the world, but the events of the Interstellar Wars put a halt to such activities, and the possibility remained a footnote on a star chart. A Rule of Man trading caravan superficially explored Havre and it’s possible they also visited Askyat, but no specific evidence has ever been found. It seems likely they left some record, however, because during the Long Night, about -200, a Solomani refugee/colonization mission, fleeing from trouble in the Reaver’s Deep Sector, settled both Noritomo and Askyat. It is unlikely such a mission would have been dispatched without consultation of prior scouting reports.

There are no actual primary sources that report on the initial landings, but traditional accounts say that the commander of the colony ship was named Wagner. He named the world after himself and began landings at the capital, now known as the city of Minna. Whether this account is true or not, Human settlers called the world Wagner and named other elements in the system after the Solomani composer and theatre director Richard Wagner (b. -2704 d.-2633). Starting in approximately 400, the local government came to identify the sitting leader as Wagner, possibly to try to establish legitimacy through a bloodline connection to the original colonists.

It is unclear what relations the initial colonists had with the Askyati Droyne, which they referred to as “Demons”. It is possible that they were unaware of their presence on the world before establishing a colony. The Droyne do not seem to have resisted the Human presence. Since they lived entirely in the tropical jungles, and the Humans settled the temperate highlands, it seems the two species rarely interacted at first. As Human settlement expanded, this became less possible. There is evidence of contact and trade between Human and Droyne communities starting around 100. There is evidence from 134 that Droyne that had been expelled from their oytripin, a fairly common occurrence, were working for wages in Human cities.

This state of interspecies relations remained the norm for about a thousand years, until 1110 when relations between the Wagner government and the Askyati Droyne deteriorated and broke into open conflict. Both sides started producing weapons, and the Humans started importing arms from the Imperium. The Humans of Wagner had always thought the Droyne were compliant and relatively dull-witted, but they were surprised by their effectiveness in combat. In early 1112, the Droyne appeared to be winning the war when the conflict abruptly ended. Both the Human and Droyne governments were disestablished, and the current unitary government was put in place. Since this occurrence, the government has agreed to call the world Askyat, the original Droyne name, and referring to the world as Wagner has fallen out of favor.

World Starport (Sp)

This world 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. .

  • The Askyat Starport Authority employee population is approximately 600 sophonts.
  • A highport in orbit and a downport outside of Minna are maintained by the government.

World Population (P)

This world has a Population rating of 8.

  • Askyat has a population of 345 million, consisting of 220 million Humans and 124 million Askyati Droyne. Human cities are home to a handful of other races, including approximately half a million Aslan, and a few thousand Vargr.

World Demographics

Askyati Droyne
The Droyne of Askyat adhere to the basic phenotype of the race with a few minor variations. Their tails are prehensile, which is observed in other Droyne land races but is not considered typical. They also have relatively longer and stronger arms than is phenotypical for their species, and exhibit more aptitude at climbing trees. These may have been adaptations or selected traits related to their habitat in the jungle region of Askyat.

The six Droyne “castes” are all present among the Askyati and conform to the species norm. The six castes are divided into three biological genders: male, female, and enabler, but all six castes are required for reproduction. The three male castes are Leaders, Warriors, and Sports. Leaders make all decisions and set long-term strategic goals. Warriors fight for and protect the community. Sports act as scouts, foragers, and diplomats. The two enabler castes are Workers and Technicians. Workers do most physical labor, clean and maintain. Technicians are engineers, inventors, and scientists. The single female caste is the Drone. Drones lay eggs, rear and educate children, and maintain social cohesion through ritual and tradition.

Each of the castes is largely incapable of operating outside of their sphere of interest. Sports appear to be the exception to this, as they are most capable of solitary independent action. To all of them, the survival and benefit of their immediate family, extended family, and extended community are their chief concerns. Despite this, they do not always act in a unified manner, and sometimes families and communities schism due to disagreements. It is common for individual Droyne who find themselves unable to continue to benefit their family or community to leave to join another, with permission of a Leader. Those who are unable to find a place in a family or an oytrip will often die, either by suicide or from neglect.

Some Askyati Droyne who have become outcasts from an oytrip have survived the experience and ended up working in Human communities. Most of the Human cities on Askyat have a “Demon Quarter” where outcast Askyati gather in relative poverty and sell their labor or manufactured goods to Humans. For this reason, before the 1111 war, most Askyati Humans had interacted with the Droyne but considered them to be a sort of underclass, unaware of the technologically advanced oytripin in the jungle. This paradigm changed significantly after the war.

Askyati Humans
Humans on Askyat are primarily of Solomani descent, having arrived as colonists near the end of the Long Night. The Human culture is typical of Solomani society, but Askyat’s position in the Great Rift has kept them from significant exposure to Solomani political beliefs or the Solomani Cause. The Human economy is driven chiefly by mining and industry, and most residents enjoy a standard of living better than the average in the Imperium.

Human society on Askyat has many unusual local customs involving eating and conversation. A visitor must be offered food, but the visitor must reject the first two offers and must accept the third. Important conversations can only be held while food is being consumed by everyone present. Talking with one’s mouth full is encouraged. When one person stops eating, everyone must stop eating. Children cannot eat with adults likely because of these rules. Alcohol can only be consumed with food, and only in the afternoon between noon and sunset.

The Askyati Humans adopted the Imperial Calendar around the year 400 without actually joining the Third Imperium. Their culture is largely affected by media imported from the Imperium. Most of the population prefers to remain non-aligned, but there was a significant push to become an Imperial Client State around the time of the war as a means of protection from the Droyne. This pressure has faded since, and the new government has officially withdrawn the request to be considered for Client State status.

In the last century, as jump-4 drives have become more commonplace, a number of Imperial expatriates have come to reside on Askyat, and the world has become known in high-class society as a place one can go when one has run out of places in the Imperium that will have them. Imperial credit exchange rates are highly favorable, and expatriates enjoy a comfortable lifestyle. Consequently, the finer establishments in the best parts of Askyati cities are often filled with the Coreward drawl of idle remittance men, Navy deserters, and other upper-class fugitives from polite society.

Since the war, there has been a push to rebuild infrastructure lost in the fighting. Many Humans seem to be motivated by a desire to see collective benefits to their society, rather than personal success. There has been a surge in volunteerism and altruism at a rate which is atypical of Human/Solomani norms, and most Humans appear to be interested in seeing their society cooperatively merge with Droyne society. Imperial social psychologists are calling this a reformative reaction to the existential risk of the war. They compare the collective response of the Human culture to that of an individual that has had a near-death experience and emerged from it with a commitment to improve his life. Whether this attitude will endure for the long-term remains to be determined.

World Government (G)

This world is governed by Self-Perpetuating Oligarchy. A single family or small group provides the leadership and important positions in the government. These positions are inherited by member of the group or their family members. The organization may be monarchy, with titles passed to family members. Or a plutocracy where inheritance of the family fortune includes government position. Or the organization may be more typical organization with positions of power inherited.

  • Askyat’s current government is a unified dual-species self-perpetuating oligarchy run by a ten-person committee called the Interim Cooperation Council. Representatives to the Council are selected from each of the municipal areas, which puts membership at six Humans and four Droyne. Despite this apparent imbalance, all decisions tend to be consensus-driven and not by vote. As the Council meets privately, nobody is quite sure how this is accomplished.
  • The Interim Cooperation Council was supposed to be a temporary caretaker administration, but there is no indication that a change in government is forthcoming.

World Law Level (L)

This world has a Law Level of 5.

  • Personal concealable weapons prohibited

World Technology Level (TL)

This world possesses a Technology Level of TL–10 or TL-A in Hexadecimal Notation.

World Military

This world has a current Battalion Equivalent figure of 1,500.

  • This equates to approximately 750,000 sophonts under arms in a reserve capacity.
  • Askyat no longer appears to maintain a standing army since the civil war. All war materiel was decommissioned and stored at the end of hostilities in 1112. The number of sophonts remaining in a reserve capacity is expected to decrease as the remaining militias and paramilitary formations formed during the recently ended civil war are decommissioned.

World Economy (Ex)

The world's economic measurements are: ( F 7 C +1 )

  • Askyat has abundant natural resources, including heavy metals, rare-earth metals, and natural hydrocarbons. Mining is a major industry and the major source of goods for offworld trade.

Trade Data

Trade Classifications for this world:

Trade Lines with other worlds:

World Culture (Cx)

The world's cultural characteristics are: [ 6 B 3 8 ]

World Language/s

  • Anglic
  • Oynprith
    • The Askyati Droyne have their own language. Oynprith is used as a mystical or religious (liturgical) language.

Urbanization

  • The Human population resides in six major municipal areas on the north end of the continent. These form the capitals of districts, each containing 10-40 million people.
  1. Minna
  2. Cosima
  3. Bayreux
  4. Leipzig
  5. Atlanta-Billington
  6. Parsifal
  • The Droyne population resides in four major municipal areas on the south end of the continent. These represent the hearts of Droyne oytripin (communities). These overlap geographically to some extent, and each represents 20-40 million Droyne.
  1. Oytrip Odraysoey
  2. Oytrip Yatwoey
  3. Oytrip Etsay
  4. Oytrip Krastay

World Infrastructure

Askyat possesses very extensive infrastructure.

References & Contributors (Sources)

62px-Information icon.svg.png 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 Far Future Enterprises or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.
Retrieved from "http://wiki.travellerrpg.com/index.php?title=Askyat_(world)&oldid=720235"