Forboldn 0208


  • Starport E Frontier – no facilities
  • Size 8 Large (12,800 km)
  • Atmosphere 9 Dense (tainted)
  • Hydrographics 3 Wet World 30%
  • Population 6 Moderate (3 million)
  • Government 1 Company/Corporation
  • Law 4 Moderate Law
  • Tech Level 4 Industrial (combustion)

A non-industrial world located in the Regina Subsector of the Spinward Marches. Forboldn is the site of the Forboldn Project.

Physical Details
Forboldn is a non-industrial Imperial planet orbiting in the life zone around Ivush, a G0 V star with a mass of 1.04 and a stellar luminosity of 1.05. It is a large, molten-core planet with a diameter of 8,080 miles. The density is 6.05 grams per cubic centimeter (1.1 Earth’s density), the mass is 1.16 Earth masses, and the gravity is 1.11 G. The rotation period is 26h 24m 00s and the orbital period is 724.88 days (668.1 local days). The atmosphere is a standard oxygen-nitrogen mix with a surface pressure of 2.11 tainted by high C02 concentrations. Hydrographic percentage is 26. The axial tilt is 27 degrees and the orbital eccentricity is nil. Base temperature is 106 degrees Fahrenheit (41 degrees Celsius) giving Forboldn a summer high of 156 degrees F (69 degrees C) at the equator and a winter low of -44 degrees F (-42 degrees C) at the poles. Native life is present.

Social Details
The high C02 content of the atmosphere has largely restricted development of Forboldn to the highlands where the concentration is low enough to be tolerable. Though filter masks allow humans to breathe in the lowlands, most people prefer to make their home where they can breathe without artificial aid. 80% of the population lives on the Wueldn Plateau, located in the southern temperate zone, and on other, smaller, high-lying areas. The remaining 20% consists of people with a higher than normal tolerance for CO2 who are able to survive at lower altitudes and are spread out across the rest of the planet. On Forboldn, where people for many generations have bred for this trait, it is much more common than usual and many Forboldians can survive CO2 levels that would quickly kill a normal, baseline human. This tolerance is distributed evenly along a curve, but Forboldians usually think of it as divided into three discrete levels. Off-worlders have at most one level of CO2 tolerance, and that only rarely. Only people from Forboldn and planets with similar atmospheric conditions will have two or three levels.

The land surface of Forboldn is divided into four regions: The Highlands, where baseline humans can breathe comfortably; the Uplands; the Midlands; and the Lowlands at sea level. To breathe comfortably in the Uplands, one level of CO2 tolerance is necessary, in the Midlands two levels are necessary, and in the Lowlands three levels are required. A certain yoga-like breathing technique allows an adept to breathe air one level above his tolerance level as long as he is conscious.

Forboldn’s population will soon undergo rapid growth due to a large number of immigrants (See Forboldn Project). It was about 3.2 million as of 001-1105. The world is governed by the Forboldn Meliorative Society, LIC. The law level is low and the technology is mostly industrial except for the rapidly expanding capital, Ashar City. This settlement is located 25 km from Forboldn Starport, and is closer to Early Stellar level due to recent massive imports of equipment from Regina.

Forboldn was settled in two stages, in 83 by the Asharii, a group of exiles driven from Lishun during one of the Imperial pacification campaigns, and in 141 by the Gugurans, a group of utopians from Dagudashaag with a fake grant to the planet sold them by a swindler. The result was a smoldering brushfire war between the two groups that lasted for five generations. In 234 the Ashari government was recognized by the Emperor as the sole legitimate government of Forboldn and immediately petitioned to join the Imperium. In 250 Forboldn and six other planets in the Regina Cluster was formally admitted. With Imperial aid the so-called Endless War was formally ended in 286, but accidents and mismanagement combined to keep the settlers poor and their technology low. With the pressure of the Endless War removed, the two rival settlements spread out and degenerated into numerous squabbling villages unable to cooperate on anything. Many settlers moved to areas far from their former neighbors, thus spreading the sparse population out across much of the habitable land. The world government soon found it impossible to govern the widely dispersed population and, though never formally dissolved, ceased to function within decades. No Imperial noble was ever appointed for the planet.

Over the years the distinction between Ashari and Gugurans blurred and became overridden by a general dislike of anybody not belonging to whatever local community one belonged to. From time to time larger political units arose, usually by force of arms, but they never encompassed more than a fraction of the planet and seldom lasted for more than one or two generations.

In 987 the Ministry of Colonization decided to attempt to utilize the many hectares of prime land not in use on Forboldn. This, however, provoked the locals into reviving the colonial government that has lain crippled for centuries. If the locals could not agree on anything else, they could at least agree that they did not want any outsiders muscling in.

For many decades the situation remained deadlocked until the ministry in 1089 finally persuaded the locals to allow the formation of the Forboldn Meliorative Society, a company in which they all received stock. The lure was the sizable subsidies promised by the ministry. The cost was an agreement to let in more settlers.

The plan is to import 1 million new settlers from 1110 to 1120, each new settler receiving roughly the same amount of stock as the original 2.2 million inhabitants. With their skills the tech level and wealth of the planet will hopefully increase to the point where more new settlers can be attracted with less inducement. The Ministry of Colonization goal is a healthy agricultural planet with Early Stellar technology and around 10 million inhabitants.

Forboldn Project
The primary colonization project within the Regina Subsector. Originally conceived in 987 to utilize the resources of Forboldn/Regina (Spinward Marches 0208 ), the project began its execution phase in 1089, shortly after the Fourth Frontier War. Large numbers of colonists were recruited and shipped in cold sleep from the Imperium core, with arrival times set from 1110 to 1120. Simultaneously preparations on Forboldn began, with detailed planetary surveys to pinpoint resources and initial building projects to prepare industry and quarters for the arrival of colonists.

An interesting aspect of such colonization projects is the recruitment method used to supply the personnel who will actually make the colony function. Since virtually no amount of money will entice an individual to leave his home and livelihood for the bleak desolation of a colony world, the Ministry of Colonization has established several programs to produce colonists. Most obvious is the colonize in lieu of prison term program. However, several other programs have also shown signs of success. In the unemployment insurance program, high population worlds have successfully used the colonization project as a means of reducing unemployment over the long term. In a similar medical insurance program, indigents unable to obtain medical treatment are provided with their needs in exchange for signing on to a colony. The needs of a colony for skills are met through the Anagathics program; qualified (and aged) individuals can be provided with anagathics to extend their life spans in return for their providing such skills as administration, mechanical crafts, or medical expertise.

Forboldn Meliorative Society, LIC
Corporation governing Forboldn and controlling the implementation of the Forboldn Project. It was formed in 1089 in cooperation between the population of Forboldn (who contributed ownership of the planet) and the Ministry of Colonization (which contributed the capital). Stock ownership in the new company was: Original settlers 51%; Held over for first wave of new settlers 20%; Ministry of Colonization (for distribution to later settlers) 27%; Imperial family 2%.

There are 100 million shares in all. 51% of the stock was distributed to everyone registered by a census in 1090, 2,166,114 in all, for an average of 23.5 shares apiece. The shares were distributed by a formula that gave adults more and children less than the average number of shares. The new arrivals from 1110 onwards will each receive 20 shares out of the Ministry’s allotment.

Forboldn 0208

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