Eridanus League
Interstellar empire of the First Federation period.
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Eridanus LeagueInterstellar empire of the First Federation period. |
The Eridanus League was one of mankind's first attempts at a unified interstellar civilization. Although the League ultimately did not last, it is remarkable in having brought together several billion humans from dozens of diverse colonies over a span of over 40 light-years. The League was started unilaterally by the broadcast of the River of Stars Charter from the moon Epsilon Eridani II-D, although the concept had been proposed and promoted among the colonies by Hoa-van-Huynh and his followers since AT 770 (2739). About half of the colonies that received the broadcast eventually joined, although after varying levels of debate and often only in a nominal fashion. Despite this there was a surprising level of pride among colonies to belong to the League, especially in small communities which were used to being overshadowed by more powerful nations in the same solar system.
The League worlds developed their own ethnic mix (the old racial/ethnic categories of Earth had disappeared, but the Eridan mix was somewhat more East and South Asian than other early worlds); this plus shared religious freedom were reasons why the worlds tried to unify, but the distances were too great. Epsilon was terraformed by some of the earliest interstellar colonisation ventures (Mars Interstellar, Kelkemesh Ventures and Eridani Vision Inc.) in the Nanotech Window, after a period of initial disagreements forming the Eridanus League to oversee the terraforming and administration. The original colonists remained divided into three "nations", although relations were steadily becoming more cordial. When successive waves of post-nanodisaster colonists appeared the League allowed further colonisation of the planet, incorporating the new groups into the League government. It was never a strong political force and the local inter-colonist conflicts several times erupted into warfare, but the formal institution remained. During this period it became the major centre of Etodism.
During the Expansion era
several colonies were founded, but the introduction of fast
(relativistic) conversion
drive ships, and eventually wormhole
links also undermined the local rule. Unable to settle on any
particular allegiance the League government found itself governing a
number of nations allied with different interstellar empires (most
notably the NoCoZo, the Mutual Progress Association and the Keterists). After an abortive
attempt to join the Mutual Progress Association the League was
dissolved and the AgreeToDisagree Pact gave each nation independence.
Due to migration and cultural assimilation the Pact was eventually
discarded as the remnants all joined the NoCoZo in 2690.
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Although based mainly on voluntary agreements to standardize laws and values, the League was successful in its goals of promoting peaceful coexistence between religious and ethnic enclaves, organizing long-term trade relationships, and the development of new colonies. The ambassador-judges exchanged between colonies set a high standard for fair justice, and because of this the four-pointed star of a League court was the symbol of ultimate authority to most local rulers and corporate officers even when there was no System Control Ship or even a Remora-class escort vessel available to back up a judge's decision. The League's greatest cultural impact, however, may have been the exchange of ideas that led to the rise of several major religious including Etodism which in the crisis years had gained 800 million followers across the League. The League lasted for many centuries primarily because of the common interests of the member worlds, not because of its ability to use force to keep colonies in line; as soon as the population crisis peaked on several colonies the League began to split apart. To their credit, the military forces organized by the Epsilon Eridani council to defend other worlds never used their armaments to force defecting worlds to return to the fold, and even in the crisis years there were surprisingly few attempts by the SCS commanders to alter the local balance of power during inter-colony disputes. |
The extreme distances involved were the obstacle that prevented the success of any of the early Human interstellar empires; in one oft-repeated example, the Umbandist 'Star Spirit 3' space station orbiting Epsilon Indi renounced membership in the League, then two years later broadcast its intention to re-join even before the original message had reached the other League star systems. As the League faded into the history files, partisan colonial self-rule would continue to be the trend for centuries to come. However, the spirit of the League was never forgotten, and it also has blood links to the great civilizations that followed it. The elite citizens from many League worlds were instrumental in organizing the 'second wave' of colonists to the new frontier worlds that would in time become the core of both the FSA and the Yoson Confederacy.
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Member worlds and systemsNote: Many systems contained multiple colonies, not all of which were League members. An attempt has been made to list the largest or culturally most influential colonies in each system during the reign of the Eridanus League, but it would be impossible to list every station or dome that at one time or another declared itself independent. |
 Epsilon Eri b, a gas giant in the Epsilon Eridani system  Epsilon
Eridani System
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Epsilon Eridani systemHere the River of Stars Charter was first announced, after having been agreed upon by the three nations on E Eridani II: New Elysium (southern hemisphere, founded by Mars Interstellar Inc.); the Allied Domestates (west of Entente Ridge, founded by Kelkemesh Ventures); and Eridan Home (equatorial and northern Plains of Steam, founded by Eridani Vision Inc.). Also joining early on were the Jain 'Starclad' colony on E Eri IV-B; over two-thirds of the Independent Accretion-Belt Mining colonies; and the Ronin Net. Other colonies declined to join including the Eternal I-ho-Chuan and the fringe-Christian Watchtower Base. The first, and most controversial, military action by the League was the destruction of the space dome 'Nome Crater City' on E Eri I with an antimatter torpedo after a blue-resistant nanoswarm outbreak there. Epsilon Eridani remained the most important system in the Eridanus League for most of the League's existence. |
 The binary brown dwarf companions of Epsilon Indi, known as Praxis and Gnosis  Epsilon
Indi System
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Epsilon Indi systemThe Prudence Foundation craft arrived in 621 a.t.. Due to cryogenic failure only a limited genetic stock was available, so cloning techniques were used to populate Epsilon Indi I and II. This colony, with only 47 genotypes but thousands of individuals, became the famous House Stevens. The arkship Starlark arrived in 764, followed by a number of other refugee ships including a Hindi Expansion vessel in 880 a.t.. This effectively ended the isolation of House Stevens, but at first the clone colony became even more isolationist. A Deeper Covenant cycler station was established at the E Indi Ba brown dwarf, which they named Praxis, in 641 a.t. This linked E Indi Ba to the so-called Eridanus Cycle, which formed an important node in the early Beamrider network. Trade with the Deepers enabled the E Indi polities, and eventually the entire League, to flourish economically. Without the Deepers it is unlikely that the League could have continued as an economic and political entity. And without the input and resources of the League, the Deepers would probably have taken much longer to attain a position of prominence, and quite possibly been totally overwhelmed by and assimilated in to the Federation The various colonies in the E Indi Provisional Confederacy willingly joined the League except for several Christian-cultist and Ecopagan compounds located on planetoids in the outer belts. House Stevens successfully terraformed E Indi II, now named Tierra del Fuego, and became the most powerful force in the system. One member colony, the Ganesha Mission, (visited by the Bluesky cult in AT 1151), attempted to use League laws to gain resources held by the Deep Red corporate Settlement on E Indi IV. This resulted in an early rift, eventually settled by an ambassador-judge aboard a heavily armed control-ship from E Eridani. The internal power struggles within the 'Star Spirit 3' council were also important events in the heyday of the League. At the breakup of the Eridanus League many of the House Stevens clone-clans departed for Ridgewell ] |
 The
tidally-locked world of Twilight
 40 Eridani System |
40 Eridani (a.k.a. Omicron Eridani or Keid) trinary star systemThe initial nanoswarm-refugee colony died out long before the arrival of the second wave of colonists at 40 Eri A-I; at first they called this tidally-locked world 'Dawn', but over time they changed the planet's name to Twilight.. The TakiCo. leaders became very pro-League after the initial reception of the Charter and only a few fringe threshold bases on the planet dissented from continued League membership. Etodist, Mondecumen, and FalunDafa missionaries were not as successful here as on other League worlds due to the prevalence of animist beliefs. Twilight, which already had a limited xenoecology when discovered, became an important inner sphere world after the fall of the Eridanus League; more details here. |
 82
Eridani system
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82-(G) Eridani systemAn important system in the 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. Much later, the Terranova Foundation and the Grue Brothers (a privately-funded society of empaths) were successful in establishing colonies on 82 Eri III. 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. After the collapse of the League, Terranova briefly became a very important world in the NoCoZo, with ties to the Communion of Worlds and the Linnent engenerator empire, until the planet was bought out and converted to an exclusive paradise world. More details here |
 Kang
021 system
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Kang 021 systemFounded by a splinter group of FalunDafa colonists, Kang-021 was always on the edge of collapse due to the inability to manufacture vital heavy machinery. Their heretical zeal had mellowed with hardships by the time the broadcast of the Charter reached them, and their request for an ambassador-judge and supplies was answered by E Eridani. On the second planet, a volcanic sulfur world more treacherous than Io (Sol V-E), lived the genetically-modified colonists who found the greatest benefits in League trade relations and support. Resources from the mineral-stocked Kang-021 system enriched the nearby League worlds but led to conflicts with nonaligned Delta Pavonis and Eta Cassiopeia over League tariffs and trade. |
 Ross
128 System
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Ross 128 systemThe large colony ship 'Utnapishtim-6' that reached Ross-128 was a more speculative venture than usual for the Star Pilgrim Corporation, which sent colonizing missions to many systems during the Early Federation period. Ross-128 was an isolated latecomer to the Eridanus League, joining as an afterthought just as the League population crisis was becoming overwhelming. However, for a brief time Ross-128 became the greatest port in the Human realm as two waves of Eridan colony ships stopped there on their way past Earthspace to future FSA/Yoson Confederacy worlds such as Beta Canes Venatici III (Chiri) and Xian Virginis II (Yosonia). Ross-128 did not itself become a Yoson Confederacy member due to a desire to avoid becoming a target of the Tahmetians. |
 P
Eridani system
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P Eridani binary star systemP Eridanus was colonized by various corporations that had been started in the E Eridani and 82 Eridani systems. In AT1432 the Bluesky sect established the first partial bluesky dome at Xujiahui on P Eridanus B-b-III, later extended to cover the entire moon. By the time the corporate colonies had grown and become networked to a point where a system-wide application for League membership was broadcast, the Eridanus League was already in terminal decline. The residents of the space dome Hoa-van-Huynh City on P Eridanus B-III-G decided to declare themselves League members anyway out of a spirit of patriotism and a futile desire to revive the dream of Human unity. It was here at the last outpost of the League that the designation 'Eridan' was applied for a supposed new Human ethnicity. The P Eridani colony later became a member of the FSA, and after that alliance broke apart attempted to contact the distant Eridan-majority Yoson Confederacy but was instead conquered by Tahmetian Crusaders. |
