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The only natural satellite of Earth, '''Luna''' is humanity’s oldest colony and one of its richest. The moon was originally settled by many wealthy climate refugees during the 21st century, and its influence continues with significant corporate presence even in the aftermath of the nationalisation of megacorporations withiin the [[Sol Alliance]]. Cities on Luna are often partially underground due to the planet’s lack of an atmosphere, but many great domed cities exist on Luna as well. The primary language of Luna is either Sol Common or Tradeband, depending on which Lunarian one asks.


Located in orbit around Jupiter in the Sol System, the icy body of '''Europa''' is the first location where humanity discovered extraterrestrial life. The harsh and inhospitable environment of the moon has led to its population remaining relatively small even in the present day. Due to the immense radiation that constantly strikes the moon's surface, Europa's three hundred million residents exist in one of the most unique environments in the entire Sol Alliance: beneath the outer ice sheet, submerged in the waters of the Europan Sea. This environment is at best poorly understood, and more is being discovered about the moon every day. However, the population believes that some secrets should perhaps be left unknown in its inky depths.
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==History==
==History==
[[File:Europa_Flag.png|The government flag of Europa.|thumb]]
Life on Europa was first discovered in the late 21st century, but serious colonisation efforts did not take place until the mid 22nd century, due to economic issues on Earth and a perception that Europa, unlike [[Callisto]], would be too difficult to maintain colonies on. The first settlement on Europa was Korormansk Station, a research settlement established in 2145. Unlike many of the settlements that would follow it, Korormansk was built around a large borehole drilled into the surface ice, as the settlement was intended to serve as a major spaceport. Over the following centuries, Europans have slowly and steadily established more stations under the ice, carving out more of a foothold for humanity.


After [[Timeline#First_contact|first contact with the]] [[Skrell]], Europa began to be frequented by Skrellian "adrenaline junkies"; they came to Europa as a form of tourism, wishing to experience the dangerous reputation of Europa’s ocean for themselves and took to signing on with any vessel that would have them. In spite of their eagerness, these Skrell had little luck in signing up with the larger organisations on Europa, mostly in part to a lack of interest in accommodating another species when resources and space were at a premium. The vessels that would accept Skrell crewmembers were mostly owned by independent contractors or smaller organisations that did not have the luxury of being selective of those who sign up with them. These small groups of adrenaline junkies stayed rare for two decades.
While humanity has been obsessed with Earth’s moon for untold millennia before the invention of the most primitive spacecraft, historians generally regard the modern era of Luna as beginning on 16 July, 1969 - when American Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first humans to ever land upon another celestial body. These pioneers were quickly followed in late 1970 by the Soviet N1/L3 Soyuz 7K-LOK “Pervoprohodets” mission, which landed the third group of humans on the Moon. The “Moon Race” would continue for the rest of the 20th century and result in the first permanent settlement on Luna by the early 1980s - the Soviet “Zvezda” moonbase. The Moon Race ended in an arguable draw in the early 21st century, due to increasing economic instability on Earth.


In the 2360s, rumours began to spread of Skrell who were able to perform feats that saved their crew from danger in one form or another. One famous story involves the crew of the Prenderghast, which had a major malfunction to its navigation systems while in a cave crab-infested cavern. A Skrell crewmember, Xuloqu Ahua'luako, was a powerful Listener that was able to detect the psionic signals from the surrounding crabs, and so lead the Prenderghast out of the cavern. Another story describes a Skrell crewman notifying their captain of an encroaching bone whale heading straight for their submarine, well before their navigator could have reported it; thanks to this report, the bone whale was uninjured by the submarine's sonar, and the submarine was unharmed by the bone whale. While humanity was aware of the psionic abilities Skrell had by this point, neither species considered its use in navigation to be practical until these rumours began; attempting to employ unassisted, consistent psionic navigation was never considered feasible by the Skrell due to the mental strain of long-term psionics use, and humanity at this point was still largely unaware of the psionic potential of the Skrell.
Luna was mostly ignored by a humanity more obsessed with survival at home until 2070, when colonists from United Orbital Enterprise (a unified space agency between the USA, China, France, and Mexico) landed on its light side. Colonists from Cosmonaut Enterprises (a successor to the Soviet space program of the 20th century) landed on the dark side of Luna in 2072. With this the colonization of Earth’s moon had formally begun, and it would see significant use as a waystation for other points in the Sol system over the course of the upcoming decades and centuries. Due to its low gravity, the Soviets and UOE used Luna as a major shipyard and proving ground for deep-space equipment.


These tales changed the common opinion of psionic application in submersible vessels, and by 2365 demand for Skrell crew surged, which led to very lucrative contracts being offered to any Skrell willing to work on the moon. Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals in particular invested heavily into the boom, and utilised their relationship with the [[Nralakk Federation]] to recruit scores of Skrell to work exclusively with Zeng-Hu within their Navigator Corps. Today, Europa boasts one of the largest Skrell communities in the Sol Alliance with a notable presence of the species in every facet of Europan life, with an especially large presence in any given Europan submarine crew. The community here continues to grow as Skrellian refugees from elsewhere in the Alliance seek to avoid the chaos in the [[Human Wildlands]].
Further colonization to Luna took place during the 21st and 22nd century as climate damage gradually worsened, with many wealthy families and companies simply moving off-world to Luna when able to do so. With Earth's economy rapidly deteriorating the rich families of the planet found themselves in need of a new home in a very short order with very few good options: Mars suffered from many of the same problems as Earth, orbital stations were often too impractical, and Luna was -- aside from some way stations built upon it in the late 21st and early 22nd century -- mostly uninhabited. Luna was chosen by most rich refugees fleeing Earth due to its close position to Earth and the perceived ease of development on Earth's only natural satellite compared to the cost of producing dozens of semi-private stations for rich families and businesses.


In the modern day, Europa is a growing economy in the [[Sol Alliance]]. It and the other Jovian colonies enjoy a symbiotic relationship, with Europa exporting seafood and mineral resources to [[Callisto]], and Callisto exporting produce to Europa.
A great amount of manpower and money was required to create this new home for the Earth's richest and brightest as Luna, unlike Mars, was built without the use of cyborg-based labor. To do this hundreds of thousands of well-trained engineers, technicians, and other personnel were employed by the climate refugees to build their new home in exchange for a place on it when the refuge was completed. As such Luna, despite its original conceptualization as a climate refuge for the richest and most notable of Earth, has had a working class from its first days. As settlement continued and more domed cities were created the "lower class" of Luna expanded to include a variety of miners brought by [[Einstein Engines]] in order to exploit Luna's natural Helium-3 and titanium deposits. Though these deposits have since dried up the descendants of these miners can be found on Luna even today, and often still work for Einstein Engines -- though now as engineers and bureaucrats rather than miners.
 
The booming economy of Luna created an environment in which corporations could easily succeed. In 2155 [[Einstein Engines]], using the foundation provided by Lunan Helium-3 mining, created the first practical mass-market warp engines and became the first modern megacorporation. Luna’s prosperity has continued since then, and it remains one of the wealthiest planets in the Sol Alliance to this very day, despite its small size and small population. The Luna of today is, in many ways, the ideal colony. Rich, prosperous, and unfailing in its loyalty to the Sol Alliance.


==Environment==
==Environment==
Luna is a barren rock with almost no atmosphere to speak of, and its surface is extremely cold. To perform activities outside without a spacesuit is suicide, and much of its population lives underground or in massive “dome cities” on its surface. The moon is tidally locked to Earth and takes 28 days to make a full rotation, leading to it possessing both a light and dark side. The Lunarian surface is also home to heavy amounts of helium-3 and titanium, which have made it an ideal target for mining. Less populated areas often feature huge strip mines where materials for humanity’s expansion into the greater Orion Spur have been retrieved from the Lunar soil, with the resulting strip mines simply left unfilled - particularly on the dark side of Luna.


Europa presents one of the first truly alien environments encountered by a spacefaring humanity. The moon’s icy surface is one of the smoothest in the [[Orion Spur]], with very few craters or mountains. This quality is likely due to its high tectonic activity - a condition the stations attached to the ice must endure to the best of their abilities. The surface of Europa is bathed in radiation due to its lack of a true atmosphere, and mere hours of exposure to the radiation levels of the surface can prove to be fatal without treatment. As a result, all unshielded human settlements must be constructed below the ice of the surface, which is thick enough to act as a barrier against radiation. The surface ice can be as thick as twenty miles in some places, with thinner areas often exhibiting the moon’s iconic cryogeysers as the water below interacts with the ice above. Some of these cryogeysers are capable of reaching over a hundred miles into the space above the moon, and have been known to interfere with passing spacecraft.
==Economics==
 
Though its population is small, the residents of Luna are on average wealthier and happier than much of the [[Sol Alliance|Sol Alliance's]] colonies. The age and wealth of Earth’s only natural satellite has led to corporations being treated slightly differently here than on [[New Hai Phong]] or [[Silversun]]. Through its wealth and extensive influence, Luna has managed to retain much of its corporate presence, despite the creation of the [[Sol_Alliance#Department_of_Commerce|Solarian Corporate Authority]] and aggressive nationalisation measures undertaken by the Alliance's emergency military government. Its largest industries are service and hospitality, and research and development.
Below the ice of the Europan surface lies the primary reason for humanity’s colonization of the planet: the Europan Sea. This massive ocean spans the moon in its entirety, and is nearly one-hundred miles deep in some areas. The sea is extremely cold due to its position under the icy surface of the moon. Average temperatures on the surface have been recorded at around -160 Celsius (or -260 Fahrenheit), with the coldest temperatures ever recorded approaching -220 Celsius (or -370 Fahrenheit). A higher salt content in the Europan Sea than its Earthborn counterparts has led to a lower freezing point, and a lower temperature overall. Exposure to the waters of Europa will rapidly result in hypothermia, and maintaining a livable temperature is a constant concern for every resident of the moon. In an effort to stave off the chill, heavy clothing is a common sight on Europans.
 
Aside from the cold, another constant feature of the Europan Sea is the extreme pressure it is capable of producing in its depths. Those submarines that proceed deep into the ocean are known to have heavily reinforced hulls, often made of plasteel. In order to withstand the pressure exerted upon those brave, or stupid, enough to conduct EVA work Europan diving suits more readily resemble spacesuits than wetsuits.
 
But despite these inhospitable, completely dark conditions, Europa is not as devoid of life as one may assume.
===Flora and Fauna of Europa===
The lightless waters of Europa are shockingly biodiverse. While many of the creatures found in the Europan Sea are harmless - and many are even edible, such as Europan shrimp, some can be quite dangerous for divers, or even entire submarines. No sentient life has been found on Europa despite its high biodiversity. The biodiversity of the Europan Sea is poorly understood due to the immense size and depth of the ocean, with many regions being inaccessible until the creation of the first plasteel submarine hulls in the 2400s. These submarines remain somewhat rare compared to traditional steel-hulled submarines due to their recent invention, but a manufacturing boom is currently being driven by them. As of 2462, the theoretical lowest point of the Europan Sea (so far only detected via sonar) has yet to be reached. This lack of cataloging has led to widespread reports of “Europan cryptids,” a local term for creatures that have been sighted, but are otherwise unconfirmed to exist. Few of these reports have ever been verified, with many being regarded as nothing more than fanciful submariners’ tales.
 
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====Europan ice kelp (''Eurolaminariales'')====
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One of the most common sights in the Europan Sea, this family of bioluminescent plants is typically found attached to the inner side of the moon’s icy outer layer, and has hooks at the end of its “branches” that allow it to dig slightly into the ice and prevent it from being swept away. Ice kelp is also known to attach itself to the outer hulls of stations under the surface ice, and is often regarded as an annoyance by the residents of the planet. This plant is often found grown in aquafarms, and is often consumed by the residents of the planet in addition to being exported for consumption. Many naturally-occurring cave systems in the Europan Sea are filled with ice kelp.
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====Europan bone whale (''Balaenoptera ossus'')====
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The '''Europan Bone Whale''' is one of the largest known creatures found in the Europan Sea. The bone whale derives its name from the bone plating that surrounds its body, allowing it to survive in the crushing depths of the sea and defend itself from predators. Despite the intimidating name, bone whales are herbivores that tend to primarily dine upon Europan ice kelp. However, they are known to become dangerous when provoked or otherwise threatened, as their thick bone plating is able to severely injure a diver or even damage the hulls of weaker submarines. Bone whales are generally only found in open waters, and their bodies often fall into the deep abyss of the Sea - well beyond the crush depth of most submarines. Bone whales are large enough to produce a significant sonar signature and have often been confused for other creatures, particularly by inexperienced sonar operators. Some theorize that many Europan “cryptids” are, in reality, misreported bone whales.
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====Light-shrimp (''Eurocaridae lucius'')====
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Often simply referred to as “shrimp” by locals, the light-shrimp is a large crustacean roughly one to two meters long that somewhat resembles the shrimp of Earth. Light-shrimp are much larger than their Earthling counterparts, and as the name implies they produce a form of natural bioluminescence. These shrimp are fairly low on the Europan Sea’s food chain, and are often picked off by batsharks and other carnivores. They are also a primary export of Europa, and are utilized in a variety of dishes on the moon. The most skilled chefs are capable of maintaining the light-shrimp’s bioluminescence, which persists after death for a brief period, even as it is being served.
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====Batshark (''Eurobatiformes caecus'')====
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The '''Batshark''' is one of the most common predators found in the Europan Sea, and is often found in open waters. It is a fairly large animal, particularly due to its wide wing-like fins that it utilizes to glide through the water, and it is capable of reaching very high speeds due to these fins. Because it does not produce its own light, the batshark is entirely blind - lacking eyes completely - and instead relies upon echolocation to locate other members of its hunting pack and prey. Attacks on humans are fairly rare, but are a constant worry for divers performing EVA. The intense acoustic waves these creatures produce is known to often interfere with sonar equipment, but batsharks are otherwise harmless to submarines. A final note of interest is that batsharks often produce noises described as “unsettling and unnerving” by submarine crews when communicating with one another, and that these noises can usually be heard within the hulls of submarines - often leading to significant stress and anxiety amongst the crew. It is theorized that batsharks may be one of the main reasons for psychological issues such as “Deep Crazy” amongst submarine crews.
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====Greater Europan cave crab (''Eurocarcinus gigantus'')====
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The '''Greater Europan Cave Crab''' is a common sight in the caverns of Europa. This omnivorous crustacean is capable of reaching a width of almost a meter, and tends to reside in “villages” of up to thirty cave crabs. Due to a lack of light in the caverns of Europa, these crabs have large, sensitive eyes capable of taking in even the faintest amount of light. They are naturally curious animals, and are known to often jump or leap onto the hulls of submarines passing through the Europan caverns in order to either travel upon them or simply to satisfy their natural curiosity. The scuffing and scuttling noises created by these crabs are often known to spook submarine crews, as the footsteps of a cave crab sounds eerily similar to somebody knocking on the outside of the hull. They are otherwise harmless to humans, though still capable of inflicting dire wounds with their claws if threatened or cornered by a diver.
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====Europan Cryptids====


None of these creatures have been confirmed to exist by any scientific expeditions, but many veteran submariners will swear that they’ve seen something like one (or similar to one) in the depths of Europa.
The one exception to the ongoing presence of megacorporations on Luna is [[NanoTrasen]], which was unable to escape the mass nationalisation of its assets even on Luna. Even prior to the expulsion of NanoTrasen from Sol, its presence on Luna amounted to a few offices in Harmony City.


The '''Europan Hell Squid''' is a large squid-like apex predator rumored to exist in the open ocean of Europa. This creature is allegedly roughly the size of an adult bone whale, and is rumored to attack submarines that descend too far into the waters of Europa. No sightings of the hell squid have been confirmed since it was first reported in 2394. Reports of sightings and attacks are scattered and infrequent enough to suggest either a creature that typically hunts in the lower levels of the Europan Sea or a migratory predator that tends to avoid humanity. Regardless of the truth (Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals has sworn to discover the species by 2500) the hell squid continues to be a frequent feature of submariners' tales on Europa. There are rumors of an even larger Europan hell squid called the greater Europan hell squid - larger even than the greatest of submarines - but these are similarly unconfirmed.
[[Einstein Engines]] is the undisputed hegemon of Luna, with Governor Kristen Anuja thoroughly at the beck-and-call of its CEO, [[Notable_Humans#Noelle_Lopez-Zhang|Noelle Lopez-Zhang]]. Many middle-to-lower-class Lunarians are employed with Einstein in engineering and research and development fields, and this influence has only expanded further after Einstein absorbed NanoTrasen's limited assets on the moon. Located outside Harmony City, the ''Einstein Engines Robert H. Goddard Administrative, Commercial, and Research Facility'' is large enough to be considered a separate municipal area from Harmony City itself and is where the famous Suzuki-Zhang Hammer Drive was first developed and tested. The facility is one of the largest, and one of the most well-guarded, corporate buildings in the Orion Spur, and dates back to the founding of Einstein Engines by Berend Lofgren.


The '''Asterios''', for there is allegedly only one, is rumored to be the largest living thing on Europa. It is a crab rumored to be the size of an entire research station, supposedly able to create earthquakes and significant disturbances in the water by crashing its massive shell into the ground. Allegedly the product of a crab being left in an abandoned Zeng-Hu black site research facility in which it grew to a massive size, Asterios is rumored to utilize its former home as its shell. Nobody has ever actually seen Asterios - perhaps due to its rumored ability to crawl along the ocean’s floor - but this has not stopped rumors from circulating. Zeng-Hu has denied that this creature, or its facility of origin, even exists.
Luna's other major research industry is its medical technology, which is monopolised by [[Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals]]. The venerable Lunar University of Medical Science has produced some of the brightest medical minds in the [[Orion Spur]], and has been funded by Zeng-Hu for two centuries. Often Zeng-Hu's researchers assigned to [[Europa]] are based out of facilities on Luna, to avoid the long-term stress associated with the moon. Zeng-Hu dominates the city of Hangzhou and its universities, and many of the keiretsu's best employees are granted housing (and medical care) in Hangzhou for exceptional service.


While similarly unconfirmed, there are reports that a massive eel called the '''Cetus''' exists in the abyssal zone of the Europan Sea. Some suggest that this creature is a powerful psychic, and the root cause of the “Deep Crazy” psychological phenomenon. Aside from fringe groups, some of which look upon the alleged Cetus as a kind of god from the depths, few residents of Europa believe this particular cryptid to be real.
But even larger than Zeng-Hu's presence on the moon is [[Idris Incorporated]]; the distinctive teal logo is everywhere across Luna, particularly in Nouvelle Caen and Harmony City. From hotels to luxury products to restaurants to guided tours, to banks, Idris is everywhere and shows no signs of shrinking (thanks to its decision to pay off the Solarian Corporate Authority). If an Idris Reclamation Unit does not have a Silversun expatriate accent, it is likely it will be programmed with a Lunan one. Le Soleil Royal, Idris' famous fashion subsidiary, has several famous fashion houses in Nouvelle Caen.


==Economics==
The rest of the stellar megacorporations have a considerably more diminished presence. [[Zavodskoi Interstellar]] has managed to edge out a place on the dark side of Luna, where its weapons testing is less likely to cause a disturbance. Their centre of power on Luna is the less prestigious city of Gagaringrad which, much like the megacorporation itself, dwells in the shadow of its larger counterparts. Meanwhile, [[Hephaestus Industries]] has been reduced from an already meagre amount of facilities to a singular warehouse, which is also shared by [[Orion Express]] for their own shipping needs. The [[PMCG]] has little need of Luna as a base of operations in Sol, and in fact seems to prefer keeping their operations away from the keen eye of Solarian governance.


[[Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals]] is the largest employer on Europa, and pays handsomely for survey data of all kinds, from meteorological, geological, and biological. Most research stations on the moon are owned and operated by Zeng-Hu, and the megacorporation possesses the largest submarine fleet on Europa. Advanced submarines come and go from Zeng-Hu facilities, heading off to a myriad of locations in the murky depths of the moon’s oceans - some never to return. These state-of-the-art facilities vary in size from small observation outposts to facilities that are cities unto themselves, and some are rumored to only be accessible by high-ranking Zeng-Hu personnel. What goes on in these Europan “blacksites” is not known to the general public, and incidents of “Deep Crazy” are an unfortunate fact of life in these research stations.
==Politics and Government==


Tourism facilities are a hallmark of [[Idris Incorporated|Idris Incorporated’s]] presence on the moon, and are typically situated in major civilian stations. The most famous of these are, without a doubt, Idris’ Jovian Jewel resort and the Galileo's Pearl facility. Due to their locations near the surface of the Europan Sea, “Deep Crazy” is not a common factor in these tourist facilities, and Idris Incorporated does its best to avoid the affliction. Many Idris Incorporated employees dislike working on Europa, particularly those in lower-level positions such as the cargo departments of stations - those responsible for loading and unloading the many cargo submarines that traverse the depths of the moon.
The domestic politics of Luna are, by the standards of the Alliance, fairly boring and typical. The governor and lunar administration are closely aligned to Einstein Engines and regarded as loyal to Sol even after the Violet Dawn disaster on [[Mars]]. However Luna's political scene has a much more interesting aspect to it: it, due to its heavy corporate presence and relative nearness to Earth, has long been seen as the center of interstellar politics for humanity. Luna is viewed as political neutral ground internationally due to its lofty status as the first colony of humanity, and Harmony City has historically been the go-to location for interstellar diplomacy on the Lunar surface. In harmony City itself a multitude of historic diplomatic agreements between interstellar powers have been signed such as the 2284 Treaty of Olympus, ending the Martian World War, the Lunar Resolution Treaty of 2287, which brought an end to the Interstellar War, and the controversial Cetite Charter of 2452, which formally recognized the independence of the [[Republic of Biesel]] by the Solarian Alliance.


There is constant demand for new equipment and repairs on submarines that brave the crushing, freezing depths; Trelenje Station is the primary shipyard on the moon, employing hundreds of thousands of Europans to manufacture and repair submarines. The advent of plasteel in the mid-2400s led to a boom in the Europan manufacturing sector, due to the incredible depths plasteel-hulled submarines can descend to. Other industrial centres are typically situated near the ocean’s surface, and feature massive bays. These vessels can range from small shuttles with a crew of under a dozen, to massive research vessels with crews in the hundreds. Many of the materials utilized in the dockyards of the Europan Sea are imported from [[Callisto]], where materials mined upon the volcanic surface of Io are refined.  
As a result of this reputation Lunarians, particularly those from the upper classes, make up a large part of the Solarian Alliance's Diplomatic Service. Lunarian diplomats and their associated bureaucrats can be found representing the Alliance throughout the Orion Spur, and many Lunarians will have relatives involved with the Diplomatic Service or themselves be involved with the Service. Most remaining Solarian diplomatic personnel found in the Republic of Biesel are Lunarians, due to Luna's status as the location where the young Republic first came into existence. While some go into the Alliance Diplomatic Service many Lunarians instead opt to join the Solarian Navy as officers, and it is considered a mark of excellence by many wealthy families to have at least one child join the Navy as an officer to prove the loyalty of the family -- and Luna -- to the greater Alliance.


==Culture and Demographics==
==Culture and Demographics==
Europans are typically stereotyped as odd, private people. The culture on the moon is insular, and while outsiders are rarely treated poorly, it can take time for off-worlders to be treated with the same warmth a Europan might treat other natives. The superstitions and customs of submariners and the urban legends of the moon give a strange impression to outsiders; native Europans working with [[Idris Incorporated]] usually go through a cultural retraining program to conceal most of the less palatable trappings of their culture.
[[File:Luna - Final.png|The government flag of Luna. The crescent represents Luna itself, and is meant to remind viewers of Selene's headpiece.|thumb]]
 
Lunarians are, as a general rule, a tightly-knit people due to the barriers associated with entry into what is considered by some outsiders to be the "ultimate gated community". Loyalty to one's family is seen as a desirable trait, and the standing of a family in the pecking order of Luna can be relatively static due to what prestige is often based upon: how long the family has resided on Luna for. Some of the wealthiest and most prestigious families on Luna are the descendants of rich climate refugees from the late 21st century that have dwelt on Luna for as long as humanity has maintained offworld colonies. Despite its immense wealth Luna's population is not entirely made up of the super-wealthy plutocrats that the planet has come to be known for, and many Lunans belong to its small yet ever-present "lower class" of working Lunans made up of everything from physicians to the technicians that keep the planet's domed city states running.
One’s standard of living in Europa depends heavily upon what facility they reside in. Universally for each settlement, however, are large gravity generators that facilities are built around, predating shipborne grav-gens. These models are larger and more power-inefficient, making them unsuited for off-world use. Because of this lower gravity, Europans are typically slightly taller than average, and concerns of low bone-density led to a push by the Europan planetary government to market milk products as a desirable food for citizens. Vitamin and mineral additives are also common in Europan drinks and food, and physicians will typically prescribe calcium supplements (or in severe cases, regenerative muscular tissue supplements) to youths and the elderly. Another constant factor for all settlements is the cold, often damp environment of the moon. Devices must constantly be maintained to ensure they do not break, lest the cold water seep into an area that humanity has carved out to live in. Space is typically at a premium under the ice of Europa, and cramped quarters are a commonplace.
 
Unlike elsewhere in the Sol Alliance, Lunan culture retains connections to Earth itself despite the separated nature of its settlements. As a result of this, many locations on Earth’s satellite proudly boast of their Earther connections and maintain a close connection to their ancestral cultures, though some drift has occurred over the past centuries. Physical drift has occurred as well; Lunarians are typically taller, thinner, and paler than their Earthbound counterparts. This is a result of the artificial gravity slightly lighter than that of Earth, from the artifical gravity generators on Luna. Some Lunarians view this as a point of pride, with a tall stature being viewed as desirable amongst its upper class.
The most common settlements under Europa’s ice fall under a loosely-organized category best defined as “civilian stations.” These stations range in population from only a few thousand to several million residents, and vary widely in quality. These are some of the oldest settlements on Europa, and are often connected to nearby research, tourism, or industrial stations. The highest-quality civilian stations are often shared between Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals, which uses their attractive housing to attract new employees and encourage transfers to the Europan branch of the corporation, and Idris Incorporated, which utilizes them as tourist attractions for the moon. Lower-quality civilian stations often suffer from a variety of issues, such as heating problems and leaks in the hull - problems on any Europan station, but ones that become far worse when one’s home is barely breaking even.


The primary method of travel for the vast majority of Europans are submarines of various sizes that make their way through the massive ocean under the planet’s icy surface. Due to submarines being far cheaper to build and maintain, and settlements being under the ice for safety, space-based travel between settlements remains rare even in the 2400s.
As a result of their typically-esteemed pedigrees, upper-class Lunarians are known across human space for their immense pride in their home and mind-blowing wealth, with some families rumoured to be richer than entire member states of the [[Coalition of Colonies]]. Due to this Lunarians are often stereotyped as haughty, arrogant people that look down their noses at others - even other wealthy Solarians such as [[Venus|Cytherean Venusians]] - and brag incessantly about their origins on humanity's first colony. A common joke in the Coalition of Colonies is that you always know a Lunarian; they'll tell you they're one very quickly after meeting you.


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The traditional stereotype of the dignified, often arrogant Lunarian that takes pride in their longstanding service to the Alliance stands in contrast to the party fiend Cytherean who takes pride in how hedonistic they can be while remaining functional. As a result the relationship between Lunarians and Cythereans is not a pleasant one, and many often form intense personal rivalries. Some say that Luna and [[Venus]] have a rivalry themselves  but, to most Lunarians, Cytherea hardly compares to the grandeur of humanity's oldest colony.
=== Skrell on Europa ===
Europa was largely ignored by Skrell who travelled within Human space in the years following [[Timeline#First_Contact|first contact]]. The moon’s inhospitable nature resulted in little if any Skrell presence for decades. Until the 2360s Skrell were a rarity on Europa, with most Skrell only living there temporarily as part of their work assignment or as part of a diplomatic attache.


Life here for Skrell reflects the typical Europan experience; cramped living spaces, arduous working conditions, and the constant danger that comes with living in an underwater habitat. In addition to all this, Skrell are unable to stargaze as part of their religious practices; the inability to observe and interpret the stars compounded with everything else has made Europan living especially difficult for Skrell. This has been largely offset by appealing employment contracts by the wealthier organisations on Europa, who are able to afford the salaries and benefits required to retain Skrell workers despite the conditions they would have to live in. The rise to prominence of the [[Skrell_Faith#Qwei’Paqui_-_Astrological_Tarot_Cards|Qwei’Paqui]], the tarot card system usually supplemental to stargazing in the [[Skrell_Faith|Qeblak and Weishii faiths]], has also helped acclimate those living on Europa. While the tarot allows Skrell to continue their religious observations despite being so deep undersea, it has also inadvertently resulted in the Skrell of Europa obsessing over their readings; as the tarot readings are considered a personal and intimate affair the Skrell have developed an unhealthy habit where they heavily rely on the tarot in their day-to-day lives, an obsession which soon developed into the Skrell adopting pre-existing Europan superstitions. Today the Qwei’Paqui can be commonly seen being paired with bone charms and other accessories by Skrell in the hopes of improving their fortunes.  
The Lunan lower class is similarly prideful in their origins, though they hold a much less prestigious and influential position than the upper class does. While they remain, on average, significantly richer than their counterparts in other Solarian settlements members of Luna's lower class often find themselves frustrated by their inability to break into the closely-guarded social circles of the upper classes and their close associates. Many members of the Lunan lower class feel increasingly threatened by the growing number of positronics in lower-level engineering positions, which make up a significant number of lower-class jobs on Luna. With Einstein Engines' influence on the planet growing, it seems that the issue of jobs and positronic workers may come to a head sooner rather than later.
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Skrell from other parts of the Spur often describe Europan Skrell as being ‘on-edge’, ‘anxious’, and even ‘disconnected’ because of how life on Europa has shaped them; they are known for their irritability and anxious disposition while travelling Europa’s waters, and it is not uncommon for Skrell submariners to isolate themselves from the rest of the crew for most of the journey because of it. With this said, no Skrell have been diagnosed with '''High-Depth Antisocial Personality Disorder''', otherwise known as the '''"Deep Crazy"'''. Unlike the humans living on Europa the Skrell are seemingly immune to the disorder - although the Skrell are still at risk of developing their own unique disorders, especially for those who take on the role of Psionic Navigator.


==== Psionic Navigators and the Sea-Blinded ====
===Architecture===


In '''2365''' the role of ‘Psionic Navigator’ became standard on Europan vessels. The innovation of "psionic radar", where Skrell utilise their psionic abilities to detect the psionic signatures of the creatures found within Europa’s depths, drove up the demand for Skrell submariners and led to many lucrative contracts being given to Skrell willing to work on Europa. This is an extremely valuable skill, as collisions with creatures such as bone whales have been known to cause significant hull damage to submarines. Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuicals is currently investigating why the skrell have proven to be so resilient to the madness often associated with the moon.
Most cities on Luna are located on its surface, particularly those descended from UOE colonies. The oldest typically use large shielded domes that remain clear due to the materials used in their construction - generally made of super-reinforced glass microthreaded with titanium - centuries ago. More recent domes utilize phoron-reinforced glass for a better view of the outside, and improved durability, and some domes even use solely force fields created by superheated plasma to create miniature atmospheres. The uniquely spectacular views provided by these domes are a point of pride amongst Lunarians, with the best views (particularly those of Earth) being reserved for the most elite of Luna’s elite.
The discovery was capitalised by [[Zeng-Hu_Pharmaceuticals|Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals]] as they brought in Skrell straight from the Federation to work on Europa, going so far as to establish their own Psionic Navigator corps. Zeng-Hu today hires out its Navigators to any group that is able to afford their exorbitant prices, and thanks to their early investment the company has a near-monopoly of Psionic Navigators on Europa.


Although the role became common aboard most Europan vessels, the discovery of neurological disorders associated with the role did not occur until long after its formation. In '''2410''' Europan researchers formally named the disorder '''Europan Sea-Blindness''', while academic disagreements caused Nralakk Federation scientists to categorise the disorder under [[Skrell_Ailments#Insanity_of_the_Tide|Insanity of the Tide]] - a neurological disease that is compared to Alzheimer's or dementia in Humans and is associated with issues related to memory, behaviour, and thinking. While still not fully understood, Europan Sea-Blindness is thought to be caused by a combination of extreme stress as a result of living standards on Europa and extended, high-intensity use of psionics, which manifests physically as organ atrophy and neuron degradation in the area around the zona bovinae. Those who are affected by the disorder report many of the same symptoms as those suffering from Insanity of the Tide, as well as a decrease in psionic capability.
===Holidays===


It could take decades of prolonged psionics use for these symptoms to develop, however, and since the disorder and its causes are not fully understood it does not dissuade many Skrell from becoming Psionic Navigators themselves. This is not to say that precautions are not taken; Navigators are usually employed in teams of three that either work in tandem and share the workload, or have regular shift changes to avoid psionic over-use. Those afflicted with the disorder are known as the "Sea-Blinded", as they typically have an extremely decreased ability to use their psionics. These navigators are considered ‘retired’ and tend to move - or be moved - away from submariner life, although those who are not severely afflicted are known to continue crewing all manner of vessels in other roles. The [[Stellar_Corporate_Conglomerate|Stellar Corporate Conglomerate]] in particular is known to hire former navigators as Bridge Crew aboard their ships, putting their years of experience navigating the dangerous waters of Europa to use. Skrell are also known to rarely if ever suffer from the maladies that ultimately lead to “Deep Crazy,” which has further contributed to their good reputation.  
One of these is '''Zhongqiu Jie Festival''', an extremely popular holiday on Luna said to date back to the 2070s. The holiday is originally rooted in the Lunar New Year, itself imported by East Asian immigrants to Luna, but has since grown to be a common holiday designed to celebrate the success of humanity’s first interstellar pioneers. The Zhongqiu Jie Festival takes place on the same date as its Earthbound variant; the fifteenth day of the eight month of the traditional lunar calendar.
</div></div>
=== Language ===


Tradeband is the most commonly spoken language on Europa. Most social and government functions are conducted in this language, but Sol Common is also spoken as a second language by the inhabitants of larger settlements. Sol Common is taught in Europan schools along with Tradeband.
'''Apollo Day''' is another common holiday, taking place on the sixteenth of July. Similarly to Danza de la Luna, this holiday celebrates the success of humanity’s interstellar pioneers. However, this one celebrates the success of Apollo 11 specifically rather than explorers more generally.


The Europan variant of Tradeband is somewhat teased among other Tradeband-speaking communities in Sol (such as [[Luna|Lunarians]] and [[San Colette|San Colettish]]). It is typically more guttural, drawling, and hushed, known for its incorporation of Sol Common slang (known colloquially as "Solband"). Europans speak very quietly, owing to a common superstition that raising one's voice might interrupt the function of the sonar navigation or break the concentration of a Skrellian navigator. Those that succumb to "Deep Crazy" are known to abandon this soft-spoken tone for screaming.
A variation on Apollo Day named '''Pervoprohodets Day''' is instead celebrated in Soviet-colonized areas, with this holiday instead taking place on the fifteenth of December - the date the USSR’s LK lander touched down on the Lunar surface.


===Cuisine===
==Major Cities==


Seafood, while indeed a common feature of cuisine on Europa, is not nearly as prominent as many off-worlders think. Light-shrimp and ice kelp are commonly fished or grown and made into foods, but more common is high-calorie and high-carb food such as noodles, bread products, and rice, the better to keep a sailor warm and well-fed in the cold, damp settlements. Light-shrimp lo mein is considered a national dish of Europa.
The major cities of Luna are quite distinct from one another due to their insular structures, and are some of the wealthiest locations in the Solarian Alliance. Below are some of Luna's largest and most notable settlements.


Owing to a marketing campaign in the early 2300s, Europans consume a great deal of milk and cheese. The calcium and protein helps keep bone and muscle density at a healthy level.
'''Harmony City''' is the official capital of Luna, with a population of roughly forty million, and is situated in the Sea of Tranquility near where Apollo 11 landed centuries ago. Harmony City is an older city on Luna and was founded by American and Canadian climate refugees in the late 2050s. Many of the original refugees that founded Harmony City were engineers and investors involved in the private space industry of the United States and would go on to become involved with the first trans-stellar businesses, which led to the founding of Einstein Engines in the city in the mid-22nd century. Harmony City is often regarded as the birthplace of modern megacorporations as a result of this. Notable locations within the city include the AESCO-L Museum of Aeronautics and Astronautics, which preserves the original Apollo 11 landing site within itself. Harmony City is located on the light side of Luna, and is regarded as one of the Sol Alliance’s wealthiest areas. It is viewed by Lunarians as a highly desirable as a location to live due to its age and reputation.


===Europan Submariners===
'''Nouvelle Caen''' is a more recent dome and is the direct descendant of an earlier dome with the same name established in the late 21st century, and is located in the Mare Serenitatis on the Moon’s light side. The original Nouvelle Caen was, as the name indicates, originally founded by climate refugees primarily from France. It quickly became known as a center of culture on the moon and attracted a variety of wealthy refugees and skilled personnel through this reputation. The immense wealth, and pride, of Nouvelle Caen led to one of the largest infrastructure projects ever undertaken in the Sol System: the modernization of the Nouvelle Caen dome to be larger and more grandiose. The modern Nouvelle Caen is one of the largest and most modern domes on Luna due to its usage of phoron-reinforced glass in its dome, which has allowed for a larger dome than Harmony City’s. The dome is large enough to feature an artificial “sea” constructed inside of the Mare Serenitatis, which has become the only body of water on Luna itself. As a result Nouvelle Caen is seen by the Lunarians as the peak of luxury on Luna and is regarded as the premier location to live on the moon, despite not being its capital. Many corporate higher-ups have penthouses here, though Einstein Engines officials prefer to reside in Harmony City due to the presence of their corporate headquarters.


Though unusual, some Europans choose not to dwell on a station at all, instead opting to live on a submarine for the majority or entirety of their lives. These so-called “Hydronauts” are a rare breed typically found in groups of only a few dozen, with the exception of some larger vessels such as the Tethys. As travel under the waves of Europa is typically hazardous, these nomads will often dock in stations for significant periods of time and live out of their submarines, before undocking and proceeding to their next destination.
'''Hangzhou''' is another old dome, though not quite as old as Harmony City, founded in the mid 2060s and located in the Mare Insularum on the near side of Luna. The original colonists of the dome were primarily climate refugees from China involved in the medical research field. Hangzhou rapidly found itself a key medical and research hub on Luna and gained a reputation as the home of the best and brightest medical minds of humanity. The economic and cultural influence of Hangzhou led to the creation of ''Zhongqiu Jie Festival'' in the 2070s, which has remained one of the most popular holidays on Luna to the present day. The medical excellence of Hangzhou has been furthered by the creation of institutions such as the Lunar University of Medical Science and the ongoing involvement of [[Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals]] in the city. As a result of this the city consistently boasts that it has one of the highest standards of living in the Alliance, with wealthy residents routinely living to be over a hundred and twenty years old thanks to cutting-edge Zeng-Hu medical treatments.


The life of a Europan submariner is not an easy one even at the best of times, and hazards - both natural and manmade - are a constant concern in the waters of Europa. In the pitch-black darkness underneath the ice, one must always be alert as danger can come from anywhere, at any time. Europa is, according to some in the Jovian system, one of the most hazardous places to work in the Sol Alliance aside from the hellish surface of Io. The danger of working on the moon has led to Europan submariners becoming a wary, very paranoid, and superstitious group. Not all submariners hold these beliefs, but a significant portion of them do.
'''Gagaringrad''' is the largest and greatest dome founded by Cosmonaut Industries and was originally settled by colonists from the Soviet Union in the early 2100s as a titanium and Helium-3 mining colony. Gagaringrad eventually depleted its titanium and Helium-3 deposits in the late 2100s and was surpassed in importance by [[Pluto]], and has never achieved the same level of influence it had in the early 2100s. It remains one of the less prestigious domes on Luna, with most of its population being from the moon's lower class. Most of the “dome” is constructed underground, which has led to it being seen as very unattractive by Luna’s plutocrats. This lack of plutocrats has been an unexpected boon for the lower class of Luna, which has managed to gain more influence in the city than anywhere else on Luna. Despite its lesser status on Luna [[Zavodskoi Interstellar]] - perhaps attracted by the nearby colonial-era weapons testing facility at Shajin Crater - has a significant presence in Gagaringrad, and is the dome’s primary employer. Like Harmony City, Gagaringrad has its own slice of Lunar history - a museum centered around the Zvezda moonbase, one of the first permanent settlements on Luna.
 
For example, one major superstition of Europan submariners is a belief that renaming already-named ships, without conducting the proper ceremony, is a surefire way to give the vessel bad luck. In order to properly rename a vessel - typically after it has been purchased by a new operator or owner - one must proceed through the proper ceremony, in which the submarine is returned to its port of origin and all metal that has borne its name is shorn off and replaced. Unless all of the metal is shorn and replaced properly, the ship will remain unlucky. Naming vessels after submarines that have already sunk is also considered to be unlucky, as is giving a vessel a name unfitting of its duty (such as naming a cargo hauler “Invincible”).
 
Submariners are also known to create bone charms from the remains of sea creatures, particularly those of the Europan bone whale. These charms are typically carved with messages in order to (supposedly) bring good luck to their holders, though some charms remain entirely blank. An improperly carved charm, or one with the wrong message, is said to bring immense bad luck to whomever is unfortunate enough to wear it, and many submarines are known to unceremoniously dispose of such charms - typically via an airlock, much to the dismay of whomever owned the now-unrecoverable charm. Other sea creatures are sometimes used for bone charms, but bone whales are regarded as the most ideal source of charms. Batshark bones are among the least popular materials, due to the cartilage in their bones leading to harder to carve surfaces. Some even insist these bones are “cursed,” but these are likely just tall tales. Regardless of the make or style, these charms are sometimes taken offworld by former submariners, to systems as far away as [[Xanu Prime]] and [[Tau Ceti]].
 
===Deep Crazy===
 
Life under the ice of Europa is a difficult one for the long-term residents of the planet, with a myriad of social and psychological issues arising in the dark biodomes and nuclear-powered submarines found underneath the ice. A commonly mentioned phenomenon among the permanent residents of Europa is the so-called “Deep Crazy,” (a local nickname for what is referred to as High-Depth Antisocial Personality Syndrome professionally) a result of prolonged exposure to the isolation often associated with the Europan Sea. Medical professionals insist that High-Depth Antisocial Personality Syndrome is nothing more than the result of stress and isolation, and insist that rumors of the affliction being unique to the moon are nonsense. Residents often comment that “Deep Crazy” becomes worse the longer one stays on Europa, that symptoms gradually build over time, and that they inevitably grip anyone’s mind after enough time on the moon.
 
Symptoms attributed to HDAP Syndrome most commonly manifest as auditory and visual hallucinations (though many sufferers will attribute these as originating “in the depths” or “from the depths”) though more extreme cases will involve unsettling dreams often involving themes of drowning or otherwise traveling into the depths of the oceans, an extreme fear of drowning, a constant sensation of being watched by something outside of the biodomes (described by some suffers as feeling like being “fish in a bowl”), and claims of seeing seaborne fauna inconsistent with any known species on Europa. No species reported by a sufferer of advanced HDAP Syndrome has ever been formally catalogued by Europa’s scientific community, though many sufferers will report seeing similar creatures. Extreme sufferers of “Deep Crazy” are known to suffer mental breakdowns and manic episodes similar to those commonly associated with high stress and isolation. People afflicted by these episodes, after coming out of their breakdown, report having been “called to the depths” or “called to the seas” by an unknown force, and have been known to claw at airlocks unless otherwise stopped. Medical professionals associated with Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals have stated that this is likely just another result of stress.
Europa’s residents and submariners often believe that there is something far, far below the charted zones of the moon that causes the Syndrome. Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals, which seeks to attract more employees, offers extensive psychiatric assistance and attractive bonuses to its employees to both attract them and stave off the stress associated with the planet. Idris Incorporated provides similar psychiatric assistance to its employees. It also employs many IPCs in its Europan facilities, which has proven an effective strategy to avoiding the isolation and stress associated with “Deep Crazy” and the Syndrome. Idris has also promoted the idea that the Syndrome is a condition resulting from long-term residence on Europa, and is unlikely to ever impact tourists traveling to one of the megacorporation’s luxurious vacation spots. Despite similar living conditions on Europa and Ganymede, with both planets housing their populations in underwater biodomes, residents of Ganymede do not suffer from a condition similar to HDAP Syndrome. Researchers are still attempting to determine whether the phenomenon is truly unique to Europa.
 
==Major Settlements==
 
'''Korormansk Station''' is the capital of Europa, and its largest settlement at thirty million permanent residents. It is the oldest settlement on the moon, and remains its only major spaceport. The Korormansk Planetary Spaceport is placed at the base of a massive shaft bored through the Europan ice by drills centuries ago, and heavy steel - and more recently, plasteel - reinforcements on the side of the shaft ensure that the passageway remains secure. Many areas of the station are dug into the ice lining this shaft, which has allowed it to support a larger population than any other settlement. Korormansk maintains a large seaport, and services submarine traffic from throughout the Europan Sea. The Jovian Jewel, the famous Idris Incorporated resort, is located nearby. The station maintains a close relationship with its nearby neighbor, Trelenje Station.
 
'''Trelenje Station''' is located fairly close to Korormansk, only a few hours’ travel away in all but the slowest submarines, and has become the primary naval yard for the moon. The dockyards of the Trelenje Naval Yard produce the vast majority of Europa’s submarines, from shuttles designed to move barely a half-dozen individuals to massive plasteel-hulled Zeng-Hu research submarines designed to endure the crushing pressure of Europa’s depths. It is also the berth of many Europan submarine crews and a significant economy has developed around this, with Idris Incorporated operating many entertainment venues here. The station maintains a close relationship and strong supply line with its nearby neighbor, Koromansk Station.
 
'''Phumanus Station''' is the premiere location from which research operations take place in the Europan Sea. Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals hosts its Europan headquarters on this station, and launches many of its expeditions from it. Phumanus Station’s position near one of the abyssal zones of the Europan Sea, which is upwards of a hundred miles deep in some regions, has likely contributed to the station’s appeal as a research center. Despite heavy Zeng-Hu investment, the station possesses one of the highest turnover rates in the megacorporation and transfers from the station to other, less well-paying assignments are common. Instances of “Deep Crazy” are also common, and many submariners insist that something is lurking in the abyssal zone nearby. Of course, these reports have not been officially confirmed.
 
The '''Tethys''' is something of an oddity on Europa. Rather than a traditional station, it is instead a large submarine - perhaps the largest on Europa - that maintains a permanent population and is self-sustaining. The Tethys is the result of a failed Einstein Engines attempt to break into the Europan market through the creation of the largest submarine ever built on the moon to that date. When it launched in 2437, the Tethys quickly proved to be a worthless investment to Einstein Engines and was quickly written off, with its crew being left to do what they could without the support of their sponsors. In the years following their abandonment by Einstein, the crew of the Tethys turned it into a mobile city that now specializes in producing smaller submarines for various Europan settlements inside of its massive former research bay. With the heavy research equipment stripped out or otherwise repurposed, there is more than enough space to produce small to medium-sized submarines inside the Tethys itself. While the vessels produced by the Tethys are not as high-quality as those produced at Trelenje Station, many submariners that do not wish to deal with the bureaucracy of the Trelenje Naval Yard prefer the convenience of the Tethys. The captain of the Tethys is elected by the submarine's crew.


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Revision as of 13:20, 13 February 2024

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    Luna pixel.png
    REGION - JEWEL WORLDS
    This location is centered in the Jewel Worlds region.
    Centered in the heart of the Sol Alliance and largely safe from any common galactic dangers, the Jewel Worlds are the pride of Humanity to some, and a massive bane to others. Here is where the first colonization from Humanity arose, and where the Interstellar War was powered, producing an extremely polarized mindset against it amongst the Colonial territories. Nearly sixty billion Humans can be found here with an undetermined amount of aliens. Among the Jewel Worlds are the entirety of the Sol star system, Epsilon Eridani, New Hai Phong, and Silversun. The Jewel Worlds possess two bluespace gates, one from Sol to Konyang - which is in the process of being dismantled - and another from Epsilon Eridani to Qerrbalak.

    Earth, Venus, Luna, Mars, Jupiter, Pluto, New Hai Phong, Silversun, and the planets of the Eridani Federation are considered Jewel Worlds.

    The only natural satellite of Earth, Luna is humanity’s oldest colony and one of its richest. The moon was originally settled by many wealthy climate refugees during the 21st century, and its influence continues with significant corporate presence even in the aftermath of the nationalisation of megacorporations withiin the Sol Alliance. Cities on Luna are often partially underground due to the planet’s lack of an atmosphere, but many great domed cities exist on Luna as well. The primary language of Luna is either Sol Common or Tradeband, depending on which Lunarian one asks.

    History

    While humanity has been obsessed with Earth’s moon for untold millennia before the invention of the most primitive spacecraft, historians generally regard the modern era of Luna as beginning on 16 July, 1969 - when American Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first humans to ever land upon another celestial body. These pioneers were quickly followed in late 1970 by the Soviet N1/L3 Soyuz 7K-LOK “Pervoprohodets” mission, which landed the third group of humans on the Moon. The “Moon Race” would continue for the rest of the 20th century and result in the first permanent settlement on Luna by the early 1980s - the Soviet “Zvezda” moonbase. The Moon Race ended in an arguable draw in the early 21st century, due to increasing economic instability on Earth.

    Luna was mostly ignored by a humanity more obsessed with survival at home until 2070, when colonists from United Orbital Enterprise (a unified space agency between the USA, China, France, and Mexico) landed on its light side. Colonists from Cosmonaut Enterprises (a successor to the Soviet space program of the 20th century) landed on the dark side of Luna in 2072. With this the colonization of Earth’s moon had formally begun, and it would see significant use as a waystation for other points in the Sol system over the course of the upcoming decades and centuries. Due to its low gravity, the Soviets and UOE used Luna as a major shipyard and proving ground for deep-space equipment.

    Further colonization to Luna took place during the 21st and 22nd century as climate damage gradually worsened, with many wealthy families and companies simply moving off-world to Luna when able to do so. With Earth's economy rapidly deteriorating the rich families of the planet found themselves in need of a new home in a very short order with very few good options: Mars suffered from many of the same problems as Earth, orbital stations were often too impractical, and Luna was -- aside from some way stations built upon it in the late 21st and early 22nd century -- mostly uninhabited. Luna was chosen by most rich refugees fleeing Earth due to its close position to Earth and the perceived ease of development on Earth's only natural satellite compared to the cost of producing dozens of semi-private stations for rich families and businesses.

    A great amount of manpower and money was required to create this new home for the Earth's richest and brightest as Luna, unlike Mars, was built without the use of cyborg-based labor. To do this hundreds of thousands of well-trained engineers, technicians, and other personnel were employed by the climate refugees to build their new home in exchange for a place on it when the refuge was completed. As such Luna, despite its original conceptualization as a climate refuge for the richest and most notable of Earth, has had a working class from its first days. As settlement continued and more domed cities were created the "lower class" of Luna expanded to include a variety of miners brought by Einstein Engines in order to exploit Luna's natural Helium-3 and titanium deposits. Though these deposits have since dried up the descendants of these miners can be found on Luna even today, and often still work for Einstein Engines -- though now as engineers and bureaucrats rather than miners.

    The booming economy of Luna created an environment in which corporations could easily succeed. In 2155 Einstein Engines, using the foundation provided by Lunan Helium-3 mining, created the first practical mass-market warp engines and became the first modern megacorporation. Luna’s prosperity has continued since then, and it remains one of the wealthiest planets in the Sol Alliance to this very day, despite its small size and small population. The Luna of today is, in many ways, the ideal colony. Rich, prosperous, and unfailing in its loyalty to the Sol Alliance.

    Environment

    Luna is a barren rock with almost no atmosphere to speak of, and its surface is extremely cold. To perform activities outside without a spacesuit is suicide, and much of its population lives underground or in massive “dome cities” on its surface. The moon is tidally locked to Earth and takes 28 days to make a full rotation, leading to it possessing both a light and dark side. The Lunarian surface is also home to heavy amounts of helium-3 and titanium, which have made it an ideal target for mining. Less populated areas often feature huge strip mines where materials for humanity’s expansion into the greater Orion Spur have been retrieved from the Lunar soil, with the resulting strip mines simply left unfilled - particularly on the dark side of Luna.

    Economics

    Though its population is small, the residents of Luna are on average wealthier and happier than much of the Sol Alliance's colonies. The age and wealth of Earth’s only natural satellite has led to corporations being treated slightly differently here than on New Hai Phong or Silversun. Through its wealth and extensive influence, Luna has managed to retain much of its corporate presence, despite the creation of the Solarian Corporate Authority and aggressive nationalisation measures undertaken by the Alliance's emergency military government. Its largest industries are service and hospitality, and research and development.

    The one exception to the ongoing presence of megacorporations on Luna is NanoTrasen, which was unable to escape the mass nationalisation of its assets even on Luna. Even prior to the expulsion of NanoTrasen from Sol, its presence on Luna amounted to a few offices in Harmony City.

    Einstein Engines is the undisputed hegemon of Luna, with Governor Kristen Anuja thoroughly at the beck-and-call of its CEO, Noelle Lopez-Zhang. Many middle-to-lower-class Lunarians are employed with Einstein in engineering and research and development fields, and this influence has only expanded further after Einstein absorbed NanoTrasen's limited assets on the moon. Located outside Harmony City, the Einstein Engines Robert H. Goddard Administrative, Commercial, and Research Facility is large enough to be considered a separate municipal area from Harmony City itself and is where the famous Suzuki-Zhang Hammer Drive was first developed and tested. The facility is one of the largest, and one of the most well-guarded, corporate buildings in the Orion Spur, and dates back to the founding of Einstein Engines by Berend Lofgren.

    Luna's other major research industry is its medical technology, which is monopolised by Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals. The venerable Lunar University of Medical Science has produced some of the brightest medical minds in the Orion Spur, and has been funded by Zeng-Hu for two centuries. Often Zeng-Hu's researchers assigned to Europa are based out of facilities on Luna, to avoid the long-term stress associated with the moon. Zeng-Hu dominates the city of Hangzhou and its universities, and many of the keiretsu's best employees are granted housing (and medical care) in Hangzhou for exceptional service.

    But even larger than Zeng-Hu's presence on the moon is Idris Incorporated; the distinctive teal logo is everywhere across Luna, particularly in Nouvelle Caen and Harmony City. From hotels to luxury products to restaurants to guided tours, to banks, Idris is everywhere and shows no signs of shrinking (thanks to its decision to pay off the Solarian Corporate Authority). If an Idris Reclamation Unit does not have a Silversun expatriate accent, it is likely it will be programmed with a Lunan one. Le Soleil Royal, Idris' famous fashion subsidiary, has several famous fashion houses in Nouvelle Caen.

    The rest of the stellar megacorporations have a considerably more diminished presence. Zavodskoi Interstellar has managed to edge out a place on the dark side of Luna, where its weapons testing is less likely to cause a disturbance. Their centre of power on Luna is the less prestigious city of Gagaringrad which, much like the megacorporation itself, dwells in the shadow of its larger counterparts. Meanwhile, Hephaestus Industries has been reduced from an already meagre amount of facilities to a singular warehouse, which is also shared by Orion Express for their own shipping needs. The PMCG has little need of Luna as a base of operations in Sol, and in fact seems to prefer keeping their operations away from the keen eye of Solarian governance.

    Politics and Government

    The domestic politics of Luna are, by the standards of the Alliance, fairly boring and typical. The governor and lunar administration are closely aligned to Einstein Engines and regarded as loyal to Sol even after the Violet Dawn disaster on Mars. However Luna's political scene has a much more interesting aspect to it: it, due to its heavy corporate presence and relative nearness to Earth, has long been seen as the center of interstellar politics for humanity. Luna is viewed as political neutral ground internationally due to its lofty status as the first colony of humanity, and Harmony City has historically been the go-to location for interstellar diplomacy on the Lunar surface. In harmony City itself a multitude of historic diplomatic agreements between interstellar powers have been signed such as the 2284 Treaty of Olympus, ending the Martian World War, the Lunar Resolution Treaty of 2287, which brought an end to the Interstellar War, and the controversial Cetite Charter of 2452, which formally recognized the independence of the Republic of Biesel by the Solarian Alliance.

    As a result of this reputation Lunarians, particularly those from the upper classes, make up a large part of the Solarian Alliance's Diplomatic Service. Lunarian diplomats and their associated bureaucrats can be found representing the Alliance throughout the Orion Spur, and many Lunarians will have relatives involved with the Diplomatic Service or themselves be involved with the Service. Most remaining Solarian diplomatic personnel found in the Republic of Biesel are Lunarians, due to Luna's status as the location where the young Republic first came into existence. While some go into the Alliance Diplomatic Service many Lunarians instead opt to join the Solarian Navy as officers, and it is considered a mark of excellence by many wealthy families to have at least one child join the Navy as an officer to prove the loyalty of the family -- and Luna -- to the greater Alliance.

    Culture and Demographics

    The government flag of Luna. The crescent represents Luna itself, and is meant to remind viewers of Selene's headpiece.

    Lunarians are, as a general rule, a tightly-knit people due to the barriers associated with entry into what is considered by some outsiders to be the "ultimate gated community". Loyalty to one's family is seen as a desirable trait, and the standing of a family in the pecking order of Luna can be relatively static due to what prestige is often based upon: how long the family has resided on Luna for. Some of the wealthiest and most prestigious families on Luna are the descendants of rich climate refugees from the late 21st century that have dwelt on Luna for as long as humanity has maintained offworld colonies. Despite its immense wealth Luna's population is not entirely made up of the super-wealthy plutocrats that the planet has come to be known for, and many Lunans belong to its small yet ever-present "lower class" of working Lunans made up of everything from physicians to the technicians that keep the planet's domed city states running.

    Unlike elsewhere in the Sol Alliance, Lunan culture retains connections to Earth itself despite the separated nature of its settlements. As a result of this, many locations on Earth’s satellite proudly boast of their Earther connections and maintain a close connection to their ancestral cultures, though some drift has occurred over the past centuries. Physical drift has occurred as well; Lunarians are typically taller, thinner, and paler than their Earthbound counterparts. This is a result of the artificial gravity slightly lighter than that of Earth, from the artifical gravity generators on Luna. Some Lunarians view this as a point of pride, with a tall stature being viewed as desirable amongst its upper class.

    As a result of their typically-esteemed pedigrees, upper-class Lunarians are known across human space for their immense pride in their home and mind-blowing wealth, with some families rumoured to be richer than entire member states of the Coalition of Colonies. Due to this Lunarians are often stereotyped as haughty, arrogant people that look down their noses at others - even other wealthy Solarians such as Cytherean Venusians - and brag incessantly about their origins on humanity's first colony. A common joke in the Coalition of Colonies is that you always know a Lunarian; they'll tell you they're one very quickly after meeting you.

    The traditional stereotype of the dignified, often arrogant Lunarian that takes pride in their longstanding service to the Alliance stands in contrast to the party fiend Cytherean who takes pride in how hedonistic they can be while remaining functional. As a result the relationship between Lunarians and Cythereans is not a pleasant one, and many often form intense personal rivalries. Some say that Luna and Venus have a rivalry themselves but, to most Lunarians, Cytherea hardly compares to the grandeur of humanity's oldest colony.

    The Lunan lower class is similarly prideful in their origins, though they hold a much less prestigious and influential position than the upper class does. While they remain, on average, significantly richer than their counterparts in other Solarian settlements members of Luna's lower class often find themselves frustrated by their inability to break into the closely-guarded social circles of the upper classes and their close associates. Many members of the Lunan lower class feel increasingly threatened by the growing number of positronics in lower-level engineering positions, which make up a significant number of lower-class jobs on Luna. With Einstein Engines' influence on the planet growing, it seems that the issue of jobs and positronic workers may come to a head sooner rather than later.

    Architecture

    Most cities on Luna are located on its surface, particularly those descended from UOE colonies. The oldest typically use large shielded domes that remain clear due to the materials used in their construction - generally made of super-reinforced glass microthreaded with titanium - centuries ago. More recent domes utilize phoron-reinforced glass for a better view of the outside, and improved durability, and some domes even use solely force fields created by superheated plasma to create miniature atmospheres. The uniquely spectacular views provided by these domes are a point of pride amongst Lunarians, with the best views (particularly those of Earth) being reserved for the most elite of Luna’s elite.

    Holidays

    One of these is Zhongqiu Jie Festival, an extremely popular holiday on Luna said to date back to the 2070s. The holiday is originally rooted in the Lunar New Year, itself imported by East Asian immigrants to Luna, but has since grown to be a common holiday designed to celebrate the success of humanity’s first interstellar pioneers. The Zhongqiu Jie Festival takes place on the same date as its Earthbound variant; the fifteenth day of the eight month of the traditional lunar calendar.

    Apollo Day is another common holiday, taking place on the sixteenth of July. Similarly to Danza de la Luna, this holiday celebrates the success of humanity’s interstellar pioneers. However, this one celebrates the success of Apollo 11 specifically rather than explorers more generally.

    A variation on Apollo Day named Pervoprohodets Day is instead celebrated in Soviet-colonized areas, with this holiday instead taking place on the fifteenth of December - the date the USSR’s LK lander touched down on the Lunar surface.

    Major Cities

    The major cities of Luna are quite distinct from one another due to their insular structures, and are some of the wealthiest locations in the Solarian Alliance. Below are some of Luna's largest and most notable settlements.

    Harmony City is the official capital of Luna, with a population of roughly forty million, and is situated in the Sea of Tranquility near where Apollo 11 landed centuries ago. Harmony City is an older city on Luna and was founded by American and Canadian climate refugees in the late 2050s. Many of the original refugees that founded Harmony City were engineers and investors involved in the private space industry of the United States and would go on to become involved with the first trans-stellar businesses, which led to the founding of Einstein Engines in the city in the mid-22nd century. Harmony City is often regarded as the birthplace of modern megacorporations as a result of this. Notable locations within the city include the AESCO-L Museum of Aeronautics and Astronautics, which preserves the original Apollo 11 landing site within itself. Harmony City is located on the light side of Luna, and is regarded as one of the Sol Alliance’s wealthiest areas. It is viewed by Lunarians as a highly desirable as a location to live due to its age and reputation.

    Nouvelle Caen is a more recent dome and is the direct descendant of an earlier dome with the same name established in the late 21st century, and is located in the Mare Serenitatis on the Moon’s light side. The original Nouvelle Caen was, as the name indicates, originally founded by climate refugees primarily from France. It quickly became known as a center of culture on the moon and attracted a variety of wealthy refugees and skilled personnel through this reputation. The immense wealth, and pride, of Nouvelle Caen led to one of the largest infrastructure projects ever undertaken in the Sol System: the modernization of the Nouvelle Caen dome to be larger and more grandiose. The modern Nouvelle Caen is one of the largest and most modern domes on Luna due to its usage of phoron-reinforced glass in its dome, which has allowed for a larger dome than Harmony City’s. The dome is large enough to feature an artificial “sea” constructed inside of the Mare Serenitatis, which has become the only body of water on Luna itself. As a result Nouvelle Caen is seen by the Lunarians as the peak of luxury on Luna and is regarded as the premier location to live on the moon, despite not being its capital. Many corporate higher-ups have penthouses here, though Einstein Engines officials prefer to reside in Harmony City due to the presence of their corporate headquarters.

    Hangzhou is another old dome, though not quite as old as Harmony City, founded in the mid 2060s and located in the Mare Insularum on the near side of Luna. The original colonists of the dome were primarily climate refugees from China involved in the medical research field. Hangzhou rapidly found itself a key medical and research hub on Luna and gained a reputation as the home of the best and brightest medical minds of humanity. The economic and cultural influence of Hangzhou led to the creation of Zhongqiu Jie Festival in the 2070s, which has remained one of the most popular holidays on Luna to the present day. The medical excellence of Hangzhou has been furthered by the creation of institutions such as the Lunar University of Medical Science and the ongoing involvement of Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals in the city. As a result of this the city consistently boasts that it has one of the highest standards of living in the Alliance, with wealthy residents routinely living to be over a hundred and twenty years old thanks to cutting-edge Zeng-Hu medical treatments.

    Gagaringrad is the largest and greatest dome founded by Cosmonaut Industries and was originally settled by colonists from the Soviet Union in the early 2100s as a titanium and Helium-3 mining colony. Gagaringrad eventually depleted its titanium and Helium-3 deposits in the late 2100s and was surpassed in importance by Pluto, and has never achieved the same level of influence it had in the early 2100s. It remains one of the less prestigious domes on Luna, with most of its population being from the moon's lower class. Most of the “dome” is constructed underground, which has led to it being seen as very unattractive by Luna’s plutocrats. This lack of plutocrats has been an unexpected boon for the lower class of Luna, which has managed to gain more influence in the city than anywhere else on Luna. Despite its lesser status on Luna Zavodskoi Interstellar - perhaps attracted by the nearby colonial-era weapons testing facility at Shajin Crater - has a significant presence in Gagaringrad, and is the dome’s primary employer. Like Harmony City, Gagaringrad has its own slice of Lunar history - a museum centered around the Zvezda moonbase, one of the first permanent settlements on Luna.

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