Terranova, 82 Eridani IV
82 Eridani system overview
Image from John M. Dollan
The five innermost planets of the 82 Eridani system.

Terranova data panel

System:Terranova, 82 Eridani IV
Star82 Eridani
Stellar TypeG8 V
Distance from Sol19.8 ly
Affiliation:NoCoZo
StatusMember of the Eridanus League, later headquarters of the Terranova Foundation exploration megacorps. Now a private resort world.
PlanetsI (Pyrothallasic superterrestrial) Mass 2.7 x Earth
II (SuperHermian superterrestrial) Mass 2.5 x Earth
III (SuperCytherian superterrestrial) Mass 4.8 x Earth
IV (Terranova) lifeless campian gaian world terraformed to eugaian: Mass 0.9 x Earth
V (Co-orbital with IV) lifeless AreanXeric world: Mass 0.4 x Earth
An important system in the Eridanus League era, 82 Eri was initially targeted by a long-range Marian-Catholic mission launched in 498 a.t. Unfortunately this ambitious long-range journey proved beyond the technology of that time and the 8,000 frozen colonists aboard the Intercessor passed right through the system into deep space with a dead crew at the helm. This ship was eventually located and recovered several thousand years later.

82 Eri Size Comparison
Image from John M. Dollan
Relative sizes of the five innermost planets of this system
I: radius 8511 km
II radius 7950 km
III radius 9949 km
IV (Terranova) radius 6114 km
V radius 3445 km
82 Eridani was eventually colonised in 1065 by the Terranova Foundation in alliance with the Grue Brothers, an empath clan wishing to escape the competition of the Old Solar system.

The Grue empaths were very pro-League but the larger Foundation had divided loyalties throughout the era of the Eridanus League. League contact did help bring prosperity to the system's many cities and stations; on the densely-populated second and third planets the once-influential Mondecumen religion gradually lost tens of millions of converts to Etodism and other groups such as Omegism and Venpredessi.

Terranova
Image from John M. Dollan
Terranova after terraformation
Terranova offered them the chance to become 'dilberts' (period term for expendable logistic and engineering personnel) in the local administration and the long-range terraforming project. The planet developed nicely, while the local society became a stratified structure with a ruling Foundation class and an empath underclass. The situation was complicated by the arrival of several groups of colonists, setting up lease-nations on the various continents. When corporate empaths bought the local empaths free they became another nation (in addition to a number of independent empath habitats in the outer system).

The Terranova Foundation was also involved in the creation of the Linn-ent empire, starting from Audubon and Linnaeus; this early empire used relatively primitive engenerator equipment to send virtual colonists to various planets in the galactic south sector of the Inner Sphere. After some initial success, the Linn-ent empire gained its independence from Terranova after the downfall of the First Federation.

At this point the system authorities became involved in Eridanus League politics. Just like Epsilon Eridani, the multilaterally of Terranova proved a severe problem. Terranova Foundation had become part of the emerging NoCoZo, but the system was outside the treaty and they tried to convince the entire League to join. The empaths largely favoured the Eridanus League as an independent group, while the other nations either favoured the old Federation or the emerging Mutual Progress Association. The following quarrels and in some cases violent confrontations were a strong factor in the eventual failure.

Terranova Foundation succeeded in dragging the planet into the NoCoZo, but found that the economic climate at Merrion was much better. Over the years more and more lease-nations dissolved into virtual networks and fluid internationalities, and eventually Terranova became a Tier III member anarchocapitalist society. The empath population, having upgraded their social abilities and instituted a cooperation with the Communion, developed into Terranova Empathy Services, a major media/entertainment/memetics corporation.

In 4300 a major economic recession struck the system, and much of the local economy moved elsewhere. In 4328 Terranova was bought by Riddersdan Ikki, a major shareholder nanotech AI owning several of the largest NoCoZo megacorps. The AI (at an astronomical expense) paid everyone to leave and has since then owned the planet as a private resort, inhabited only by a small minority of traditionalist empaths and specially invited friends, worshippers and lovers of the AI. According to rumor it has left most of the planet unchanged, allowing the once grand cities to fall into dramatic ruins where one can wander for months without encountering any other human. Exactly what the AI wants on the planet is unknown, but it appears to be an artistic/egotistic statement. Over the last millennia the AI has become ever more eccentric, often arranging strange festivities and inviting unusual individuals for meetings. According to its own statements, the planet is not yet finished.
 
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Inner SphereNon-Coercive Zone (NoCoZo)Systems & Worlds S - T
 
Development Notes
Text by Anders Sandberg, amended by Steve Bowers and John M. Dollan

Initially published on 05 November 2008.

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