World Name: Herotitus
Star Type: G3IV
Position in System: 2
Time to Jump Point: 8.52 days
Recharging Station: Nadir
Political Ruler: Gabriel Fur' Seng-Gang,
President of the Council of Herotitus Libertines
ComStar Facility Class: B
ComStar Representative: Precentor Maxwell
Klanis
Population: 240,000
Percentage and Level of Native Life: 20%,
Reptile
Description:
Herotitus lies athwart the trade routes of the Magistracy of
Canopus and the Taurian Concordat. Prior to the Reunification
War, both governments organized a joint settlement there in a
rare example of mutual development. Left largely to themselves,
the inhabitants developed a stable agricultural community until
philosophical dissidents from the Taurian Concordat arrived in
2997. These New Hedons conquered the planet, which quickly became
a mirror image of Canopian pleasure planets. Though contested by
the Magistracy, the Concordat, and the Capellan Confederation,
the planet remains mostly untouched by the ravages of the
Succession Wars. None wish to destroy one of the few remaining
centers of pleasure left in the Periphery.
In what is now heralded (by those possessing excellent
hindsight) as an early indication that the Taurian Concordat and
Magistracy of Canopus would someday cooperate in much larger
ventures, Herotitus was jointly colonized by those two realms in
the late 2600s. Though situated in a prime position on the routes
traveled by traders from the Concordat and the Magistracy, the
planet Herotitus passed through the various conflicts fought in
the Periphery untouched; because neither realm fully claimed it,
the agricultural world held no strategic value to the various
powers who sought to control the larger states.
When the New Hedons, philosophical dissidents from the Taurian
Concordat, arrived on Herotitus on 2997, they quickly took over
the planet's minimal government. Firmly devoted to the belief
that only those things that give pleasure possess intrinsic
value, the New Hedons established governmental initiatives to
create an industry providing the widest possible variety of
physical and spiritual indulgences. Revenues from the
"pleasure industry" and heft trade tariffs support the
expanded government required to administrate the resulting
interstellar traffic, immigration laws, and necessary law
enforcement personnel.
Because the Hedonists concentrated their industry in a limited
number of locations, most of Herotitus maintains the simple
agrarian lifestyle established by the first settlers. A separate
branch of government provides law enforcement, a judicial system,
and social services for the portions of the population not
employed by the pleasure industry. Because no single group dared
disrupt the status quo on Herotitus for fear of reprisals from
across the Periphery, freedom from war and other conflicts
allowed the planet's citizenry to prosper over the centuries.
They currently produce sufficient marketable items and crops to
support a modest trade in exports, and the revenue from this
commerce is earmarked specifically for the nonindustrial part of
the society.
Herotitus has the dubious distinction of being the center of
the New Hedon movement, one of several Periphery philosophical
sects that have sprung up in the last 75 years. Located between
the Magistracy of Canopus and the Taurian Concordat, Herotitus is
one of the few worlds in the Periphery that does not support a
standing military. Instead, the inhabitants of Herotitus, the New
Hedons, support a simple philosophy of "eat, drink, and be
merry and let some other fool die fighting." In the decades
since its founding, the entire planet has been given over to
here-and-now enjoyment of earthly pleasures. Though not as
elaborate as the Canopian Magistracy worlds in their prime,
Herotitus is an oasis of sensual pleasures, which are supported
by heavy trade tariffs and duties. Though occupied more than once
in its history, Herotitus has remained untouched by the ravages
of time and Inner Sphere conflicts. Meanwhile, the popular adage
is still true: "On Herotitus, anything goes, and usually
does."
Because the Hedonists concentrated their industry in a limited
number of locations, most of Herotitus maintains the simple
agrarian lifestyle established by the first settlers. A separate
branch of government provides law enforcement, a judicial system,
and social services for the portions of the population not
employed by the pleasure industry. Because no single group dared
disrupt the status quo on Herotitus for fear of reprisals from
across the Periphery, freedom from war and other conflicts
allowed the planet's citizenry to prosper over the centuries.
They currently produce sufficient marketable items and crops to
support a modest trade in exports, and the revenue from this
commerce is earmarked specifically for the nonindustrial part of
the society.
Herotitus has taken on a more important role in the Periphery
lately, being located between the now allied Taurian Concordat
and Magistracy of Canopus, close to those states' New Colony
Region. Further, should the Capellan Confederation decide to rid
itself of the threat posed by this new alliance, the planet
Herotitus sits in between, in a clear path between the
Confederation and the Taurian-Canopian alliance.
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