Post by Angel on Apr 15, 2010 21:45:44 GMT -8
General Planet Climate: Arid to varied. The atmosphere is usually dry and hot, but sometimes humid. During the winter it can get very cold in some places. The rich soil helps sustain heavy plant life (and some genetically engineered to survive tough patches) and some non-native wildlife in some of the areas with better weather. The planet was also later found to be rich in ores, and is currently one of the central planets in trading, exporting, and mining them. Although most of the past volcanoes are dormant or extinct, there are periodic times where they do erupt and cause havoc.
Population Levels: Moderate population. The drier areas of the planet--the ones that are hard to grow crops in--are mostly sparse in number, with deserty vegetation and cracked earth. There are a large amount of mining towns that have sprung up around the mining camps, only to be abandoned later down the road and turned into ghost-towns when the vein runs dry. The more habitable, beautiful areas of the planet (more vegetation, nice weather, abudant water, and richer soil) are well populated and civilized, and sometimes viewed as an interesting vacation destination.
Standard of Living: Because the planet is getting rich off of its mining endeavours, the planet's population is generally very wealthy and well off in the larger cities. There are some nice vacation spots that some of the more powerful people can afford to visit. The miners, however, are usually poorly treated working class citizens or--in some of the more distant, out-lying areas--illegal slaves. The smaller towns and cities are usually poorer, as most of the population and wealth go towards the bigger, more well-known cities.
Main Export: Their main export are raw materials such as ores and metals. There is also a black market demand for slaves, and you can fetch a high price on this planet selling them (the government is rumored to look the other way with these transactions--it's certaintly not a business that you can openly deal). Many times citizens of the planet itself--if they wander too far into the fringes ofcivilization--are kidnapped and forced to work as bond-slaves in the far-off mines. There is an almost frantic fever to dig out the valuable ores in the planet--which might be quickly exhausted if the government didn't step in and regulate it.
Relation to the Central Government: The planet is pretty much in line with the established government. However there is some tension--some of the seedier businesses attract criminals to the poorer towns, and the citizens frequently complain about it. Those towns are generally left to fend for themselves. Because of the wealth generated by this planet, the government frequently turns a blind eye to some of the bad business that goes on here.
Religion: State religion holds in the more populated cities, though is not enforced on the population. In the smaller mining towns and cities, the religion is more basic and simplified, without as many ornate, ritual elements.
Other History: In the far past, the planet had a violent history of volcanoes and earthquakes, initially leaving the planet's surface arid and hot. Later, the world cooled and the volcanoes became increasingly dormant. Mountains sometimes crowd in thick clusters across the giant continents, with sparse oceans of water scattered around the world. After it was terraformed, the soil was found to be very rich and more of the underground water was able to be discovered, unearthed, and redirected to colonies.