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Terranova, 82 Eridani III |
82 Eridani was colonised by Terranova Foundation in alliance with the Grue Brothers, an empath clan wishing to escape the competition of the solar system. 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).
At this point the system authorities became involved in the Eridanus League attempt. 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.
