“To step out onto the soil of asteroids, to lift with your hand a stone on the moon, to set up moving stations in ethereal space, and establish living rings around the Earth, the moon, the sun, to observe Mars from a distance of several tens of versts, to land on its satellites and even on the surface of Mars - what could be more extravagant! However, it is only with the advent of reactive vehicles that a new and great era to astronomy will begin… But I hope that my studies will if not soon but perhaps in the distant future, yield society mountains of grain and limitless power.” - Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, 1912

Our solar system is centered on the sun, a medium-sized yellow star. It is orbited by four sizable rocky bodies (the inner planets), four much larger gas giants, and numerous smaller rocky and icy bodies (asteroids and Kuiper Belt objects, including Pluto). Two inner planets, all the gas giants, and some asteroids and Kuiper Belt objects have rocky or icy satellites of their own.

This section provides statistics for significant planets and moons.

Diameter is the equatorial diameter.
Mass is self-explanatory.
Rotational Period: This is the sidereal day, the time it takes for a body to fully rotate around its axis. It is given in Earth days or hours. For Earth, this is one day.
Orbital Period: This is the sidereal year, the time it takes for a body to complete a full orbit around a central body, such as a planet around the sun. It is given in Earth days or years. For Earth, this is one year.
Solar Day: The time between local solar noon from one day to the next.
Density is the average density of the body in grams per cubic centimeter. Water has a density of 1 g/cm3, so bodies with densities of 1.0 to 1.5 are more ice than rock, while those with lower densities are primarily composed of gas.
Escape Velocity is the velocity in miles per second (MPS) needed to escape the body's gravity and enter interplanetary space. To Orbit is the lesser velocity needed to go into orbit.
Atmosphere Pressure and Composition: The pressure (in Earth atmospheres on the surface) and density, and the gases making up the atmosphere. Atmospheres inside space habitats are similar to Earth unless noted. Since gas giants such as Jupiter have no solid surface, the diameter and gravity given are at the 1 atmosphere pressure level.
Surface Water is the percentage of the planet or moon covered by liquid water. Subsurface water or ice deposits are also indicated.
Temperature is the annual average. It may vary by latitude, time of day, and season.
Moons are a planet's natural satellites, if any.
Population is the total number of biological sapient beings, excluding animals, AIs, etc, but including bioroids.
Spaceports are the name and extent of orbital and ground facilities.
Control Rating (CR) is a rough measure of the degree of government regulation (see B249).

The 'inner system' refers to the area from the sun to the outer orbit of Mars. It is the most heavily populated region of the solar system.

The sun is a G2 yellow dwarf star. Its composition is 75% hydrogen and 25% helium, with traces of other elements. In its core, pressures of 250 billion atmospheres create the conditions for thermonuclear fusion. Each second, 700 million tons of hydrogen are converted to 695 million tons of helium, at temperatures of 27 billion degrees F, generating an output of 386 million trillion megawatts. Much of this energy is absorbed as it travels to the sun's surface. The photosphere - the sun's surface - is 'only' 11,000F, although the invisible corona extends out for millions of miles beyond the surface, and temperatures here can reach 3,000,000F.

The sun radiates a stream of ionized matter, the solar wind, into space at velocities averaging about 280 miles per second. This outflow of solar plasma eventually encounters incoming charged particles from interstellar space; the boundary where this occurs is known as the heliopause and is one way to mark the 'edge' of the solar system, approximately 150 AU from the sun.

The solar wind is not just of academic interest: its intensity varies unpredictably, sometimes flaring up dramatically. Its interactions with planetary magnetospheres can produce power surges or affect communications, while solar flares are a radiation hazard that requires spacecraft, stations, and surface colonies on worlds with thin or no atmospheres to have heavy radiation shielding. Like Earth's winds, the solar wind can also be used for propulsion and power. Spacecraft using plasma sails rely on it for propulsion, and its particles have seeded Mercury and Luna with the fusion reactor fuel He-3.

Diameter: 864,500 miles.
Mass: 332,946 Earths.
Density: 1.4 g/cm3 (mean), 151 g/cm3 (core).
Escape Velocity: 383 mps (miles per second)
To Orbit: 268 mps.
Orbital Spaceports: European Solar Observatory (with spacedock facilities).

Solar flares are storms of high-energy protons emitted from the sun. The sun follows a rough 11-year cycle of flare activity, and during peak periods (the solar max) multiple flares may occur within the space of a few weeks.

A typical flare lasts several hours: solar observatories can give a few hours' worning.

On average, small flares occur 1-6 times each year and deliver 50-150 rads, mid-size flares every 2-5 years delivering 200-1,200 rads, and major ones a few times every decade (at the solar max) delivering 2,000-6,000 rads. These dosages are in space at a distance of 1 AU from the sun; divide by the square of the actual distance. Thus, someone 0.5 AU from the sun during a small 100-rad flare might take 100/0.25 = 400 rads.

Someone on the suface of Earth, Venus, or Titan, and to a lesser extent, Mars, is protected by miles of atmosphere, but anyone in space or on an airless body is exposed. Colonies on places like Mercury or Luna burrow underground, and large space stations are built with heavy and expensive shielding, while small stations and spacecraft have 'storm shelters' that crews and passengers can retreat into. Flares also disrupt broadcast radio transmissions within the inner solar system, but laser communications are unaffected.

There are a few solar observatories located near the sun, whose functions include the study of solar phenomena and early warning of solar flares. Spacecraft on system-crossing trajectories sometimes dive close to the sun to obtain a boost from its gravity, but rarely stray too near the corona.

Some recent studies on solar neutrino production suggest one or more primordial black holes may be located near the center of the sun.

This planet is the closest to the sun. It is also the second-smallest planet, although its iron core makes it the densest body in the solar system after Earth. Mercury has practically no atmosphere. As a result, day-night temperature variations are extreme, ranging from -300F in the shade to 800F in the sun. Amazingly, water ice exists in the perpetual shadows of some polar craters. The combination of ice, abundant solar power, and mineral resources made Mercury an attractive location for colonization.

Mercury's surface is a mix of heavily cratered highlands and smoother lowlands. The Caloris event, 3.85 billion years ago, was a giant asteroid impact that blew off much of Mercury's surface crust. It created an 840-mile-wide crater halfway between the equator and north pole, marked by concentric blocks of mountains around its edges. The Caloris impact was so powerful that seismic waves carried through the planet, creating the Guido d'Arezzo, a zone of jumbled, mile-high hills and valleys the size of western Europe. Both the impact basin and the Guido d'Arezzo are rich in heavy metals, although they are located far from the more habitable poles.

Mercuty is blessed with rich deposits of heavy metals, as well as some He-3. The largest colony, at Goethe Crater on the north pole, was founded by a coalition of European Union governments and corporations. They have built a 100-mile-long mass driver to accelerate loads of metal to Earth-Lunar space, and established several mining bases across the Caloris Basin.

Four other nations also have mining colonies. Sharing the north pole are the United States (at Purcell crater), and Russia and Brazil (at Aristoxenies crater). On the south pole, China has a large facility at the ice-rich Chao Meng-Fu crater. Many of the inhabitants are contract workers rather than permanent immigrants; China, Brazil, and the United States also use bioroids.

The other major industry is the use of solar power to produce antimatter. The European, Chinese, and American antimatter factories (mostly built on the equator) use hundreds of square miles of solar cells to power large particle accelerator facilities that create antihydrogen at a rate of a few grams a week. The value of antimatter has resulted in institutional paranoia. Officials are alert for spies, security is tight, and any industrial accident is regarded as potential sabotage. All national bases have military garrisons.

Diameter: 3,032 miles.
Mass: 0.055 Earths.
Density: 5.4 g/cm3.
Gravity: 0.37 G.
Escape Velocity: 2.7 mps.
To Orbit: 1.9 mps.
Rotational Period: 58.6 days.
Orbital Period: 88 days.
Solar Day: 176 days.
Atmosphere: Vacuum.
Surface Water: Trace polar ice.
Temperature: -280F (shade) to 800F (sun).
Moons: None.
Population: 110,000.
Control Rating: 4.
Spaceports: Large spaceport (at Goethe crater). Several small spaceports.

Venus is a hellish pressure cooker of a planet, starkly hostile to life. The planet is almost as large as Earth, and similar in composition, but there the resemblance ends. Its rotation is slow and retrograde to Earth's, so the sun rises in the west and sets in the east. Venus has an atmosphere of superdense carbon dioxide, and its surface is completely shrouded in pale yellow clouds of sulfuric acid. Its proximity to the sun and dense cloud cover create an extreme greenhouse effect, resulting in temperatures hot enough to melt lead. The crushing pressures on the surface are equivalent to those half a mile beneath Earth's ocean. Daytime on Venus lasts for months, and is illuminated by dim, lemon-colored, omnidirectional light. The long nights are pitch black; the stars are never visible from the surface. Venus has two main 'continents', the north-polar Ishtar and equatorial Aphrodite, each elevated miles above the surrounding terrain. There is no water. The surface is a gloomy, barren desert of basalt bedrock, sand dunes, fractured terrain, and old lava flows.

A few humans live and work on Venus, but their gear and habitats must be expensively engineered to withstand the extreme temperatures and pressure. The major base, Research Station Aphrodity, is run by Germany and the United Kingdom, with a transient population of 1,100. Its primary mission is to study Venus to discover information relevant to Earth's own evolution and to lay the groundwork for a long-term Venusian terraforming project (which will likely take centuries.) Aphrodite maintains scientific outposts scattered across the planet and various facilities in orbit. Visiting scientists from other nations also rent space at Aphrodite for their own projects.

Most of Venus's human population are planetary scientists, terraforming engineers, and technicians. The latter call it 'the Hell Hole,' and spend their time maintaining or redesigning systems that degrade under the environmental stress. A few commercial ventures have also been attempted. Some prospectors have found diamonds; SpaTek corporation organizes cybershell teletours.

In 2109 a small TSA base was established on the other side of the planet. It may be a military research facility, but its precise purpose is unknown.

Diameter: 7,521 miles.
Mass: 0.815 Earths.
Density: 5.2 g/cm3.
Gravity: 0.91 G.
Escape Velocity: 6.5 mps.
To Orbit: 4.6 mps.
Rotational Period: 243 days.
Orbital Period: 225 days.
Solar Day: 117 days.
Atmospheric Pressure: Superdense (90 atm.)
Atmospheric Composition: Carbon dioxide (96%), Nitrogen (4%)
Surface Water: None.
Temperature: 850F.
Moons: None.
Population: 2,000.
Control Rating: 4.
Spaceports: Small spaceport at Research Station Aphrodite.

The planet of blue skies, green fields, and vast cities, Earth is the only world where a normal human can breathe the open air or walk unprotected on its surface. Earth's 11 billion people represent the majority of the solar system's human population. Earth is at the leading edge of technologial change, fashion, and innovation, and the center of civilization. The average global standard of living in 2155 is six times what it was in the year 2001. While the bulk of humanity is better off, discrepancies between rich and poor have increased to an unparalleled degree. Aging but vigorous populations make stable countries more so, but elsewhere, radicalism is on the rise, as new and virulent memes struggle to displace older ideologies.

The global ecosphere is still habitable, but it does require regular management. Fortunately, the worst excesses of 20th-century pollution are being reversed. However, global warming remains a problem. Greenhouse emissions from sources like fossil fuels are down, but human energy use is up: 13 times what it was in 2001. The world's sea levels have risen slightly, and while some regions are warming, others suffer longer winters. The ozone layer is no longer declining, but has not recovered to 20th-century levels. It is dangerous to stay outdoors in direct sunlight, especially in high northern or southern latitudes.

This is also an era of 'heavy weather.' Fierce hurricanes, typhoons and tornadoes are roughly twice as common and twice as destructive as they once were. Weather control using powerful orbital lasers (to heat warm air masses) can sometimes redirect them, but with no world government, doing so is controversial, as no nation wants a storm redirected onto them. Many of the world's best AIs are kept busy predicting and controlling the climate.

The ecological damage wrought by these changes and the spread of human industrialization has driven many species to extinction. Even today, many plant and animal species are being displaced by hardier, human-engineered variants. Since the 2060s, cloning and genetic engineering has brought some dead species back, where intact DNA samples were preserved. People now keep samples of endangered plants and animals in nanostasis, but past losses are incapculable.

The nation-state remains the basic political unit, although a growing phenomenon is the rise of city-sized microstates with special status or autonomy. Some countries have broken into smaller regions, others have changed their names, but the political map is not dissimilar to that of the 20th century. Most governments are representative democracies, though sometimes in name only. There is no world government. Global politics is dominated by great powers and regional alliances; the most influential are the European Union, China, the United States, the Pacific Rim Alliance, and the Transpacific Socialist Alliance.

Mature global Web and telepresence technology has removed the need for people to be physically present in offices, schools, and factories. However, rising populations have pushed people together. The result is mixed: some urban centers have suffered neglect, as 'community' no longer equates with 'neighborhood', while in other locations, deliberate efforts have been made to reverse this. In the last 80 years, cheap cybershell labor has dramatically reduced the cost of construction, making massive urban renewal projects affordable. The most extreme examples are the replacement of entire cities with arcologies, giant cities-in-a-building that house tens of thousands of people, surrounded by parkland, farms, or the remnants of earlier cities.

The world's agricultural production largely comes from giant farms, with genemod crops tended by gengineered insects and microbots rather than humans or larger machines. In some areas, government subsidies or entrepreneurial spirit have kept smaller farms alive. Some specialize in exotic 'pharm' animals and plants gengineered to produce unique pharmaceutical products. Others avoid genetic engineering to raise 'organic' food for the sizable minority of consumers who still insist upon it. Subsistence agriculture also continues in a few poorer regions, with a mix of gene-hacked grey-market copies of pharm plants and animals plus old-style farming and herding.

Meat is grown in 'fauxflesh' vatfacs using engineered cell cultures. Vast tracts of forest have returned to wilderness, as similar techniques vat-grow wood and pulp to order. Raising live animals for meat is looked upon much like hunting or trapping a century before. It's practiced by some as a recreation or lifestyle, disdained as barbaric by others, and banned in some nations.

The increase in wilderness, made possible by the decline of ranching and forestry, has been countered by a growing interest in living in such areas. The reduced need to physically commute to work (either due to telepresence or arcology living) has caused a decline in automobile use and a growing number of well-off communities far from civilization. Cheap minifacturing technologies, air cars, global satellite communications, virtual-reality telepresence, and inexpensive solar power all make physical isolation palatable. Many such 'telepresence communities' are gated communities that restrict membership and outside access to those with appropriate money or ideology. People seeking cheap land or genuine isolation head to more hostile areas such as the poles, deserts, or underwater. These areas are increasingly being settled by 'econiche' parahumans designed for particular environments.

Pantropy and fusion power have also opened up the world's oceans. There are several underwater settlements, of which Elandra is the largest. Located in and under the Pacific Ocean, Elandra is a collection of aquatic habitats with a total population of 14,000. Much of Elandra's income comes from mining petroleum deposits and black smoker volcanic vents. Politically, Elandra is a free city within the Pacific Rim Alliance. Its large Australian population has resulted in its being nicknamed 'Deepstralia', which most Elandrans dislike. Many of its inhabitants are aquaform parahumans and uplifted animals. Elandra's interests are closely aligned with those of the transnational GenTech Pacifica.

This global data-flow network was the foundation of Third Wave civilization, and in vastly more complex form exercises tremendous influence in the lives of nearly every human from Earth to Luna. Humans rarely 'surf' the Web anymore. It impinges on them through almost every waking moment as augmented reality, overlaid and transmitted through wearable or implanted 'virtual interfaces'. The actual site navigation and data mining is handled almost entirely by autonomous subprograms controlled by infomorph AIs. No one talks about 'going online' - with cellular and satellite transmitters nearly everywhere, that's the normal state. Going 'dead' - losing Web connectivity - is as rare as a power blackout, and just annoying.

When people talk of visiting the Web, they usually mean one of the millions of virtual realms that exist. Using virtual interface modeling software, it's not hard to create 'virtuality' content on a local or vast scale. A visitor can access these with proper hardware and a password.

There are millions of virtual communities, from small and exclusive locations to places as diverse and complex as a large city. In some, the user experiences the situation from a disembodied perspective, while others plug him into a specific avatar (for example, a dolphin in an undersea realm) or allow him to import his own choice of bodily imagery.

Virtual realms are rarely visited to perform simple activities better handled by autonomous agents, such as routine shopping or information searches. Some host elaborate interactive multi-user simulations or roleplaying games. Most are just places to socialize with other people: the 21st-century equivalent of an office boardroom, club, coffee shop, park, study, or mall. Many people have personal virtual rooms or houses (often started when they were children, and continually renovated since) which can be larger than their real residence. This is common for inhabitants of overpopulated urban areas in Third- and Fourth-Wave countries. The richness of virtual realms varies with the available computing power and storage space of their owners.

'Weblife' is a term for digital entities ('infomorphs') whose attention focuses primarily on the Web. Uploaded human personalities and wholly artificial intelligences can both be considered weblife. Those virtual realms which are frequented mainly by weblife are often exceedingly bizarre by human standards.

Diameter: 7,928 miles.
Mass: 1 Earth mass.
Density: 5.52 g/cm3.
Gravity: 1 G.
Escape Velocity: 7 mps.
To Orbit: 4.9 mps.
Rotational Period: 24 hours.
Orbital Period: 365 days.
Solar Day: 24 hours.
Atmospheric Pressure: Standard (1 atm.)
Atmospheric Composition: 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 1% argon
Surface Water: 71%.
Temperature: 45 to 100F (average range).
Moons: Luna (0.0026 AU from Earth).
Population: 11 billion.
Control Rating: 0-6 (average 3).
Spaceports: Large spaceports include Quito (Ecuador), Sanya (Hainan Island, China), Cape Canaveral (USA), Kourou (French Guiana), and Srirarikota Island (India). Small spaceports include Baykonur (Kazakstan), Cape Town (South Africa), Pekanbaru (Indonesia), Plesetsk (Russia), Sargodha (Pakistan), Tanegashima (Japan), Woomera (Australia), Yavne (Israel), and others.

Earth orbit is one of the busiest locations in the solar system. It is divided into three major zones:

Low Earth Orbit (LEO) is the crowded region from the top of the atmosphere to the bottom of the Van Allen radiation belt a few thousand miles up. It is easy to launch satellites into LEO, and they rapidly orbit the Earth, but they can only see a small portion of it at any given time.

High Earth Orbit (HEO) runs from just above the inner Van Allen belt (about 3,000 miles up) to 22,000 miles up. It gives a good view of the planet and is less crowded, but is more expensive to reach.

Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) is at 23,000 miles above the equator. A satellite in GEO is orbiting at the same speed as the rotation of the Earth, and so will stay fixed over a particular location. This makes points in GEO vital for communication satellites, and hence very crowded.

There are close to two million operational satellites orbiting the Earth at any one time, ranging from comsats in GEO to the vast squadrons of cheap microsats that different organizations have lobbed into LEO a few hundred miles up. The majority of the latter are football-sized or smaller objects housing anything from imaging sensors to microgravity biolab experiments. The largest unmanned satellites are the hundreds of orbital factories which manufacture precision, high-value microgravity- and vacuum-engineered products such as drugs, foamed alloys, and high-purity crystals. These goods are often picked up by regular service flights and taken to a larger manned station for shipment to Earth or to other space stations.

Most satellites are owned by companies, a sizable number by private individuals, and many by governments. A microsatellite insertion to LEO can cost as little as $5,000, but international agreements are in place to regulate key orbital real estate (such as geostationary orbits), and getting permits to lob something into place can be a bureaucratic nightmare, unless it's replacing an existing system. The major concern here is overcrowding; there is so much junk in space that professional orbital salvage teams can make a decent living just from scavenging broken systems and sweeping up threatening debris.

Far more sinister are the various satellites operated by military and intelligence agencies. These range from spysats and command-and-control systems to armed space defense platforms and autonomous kill vehicles. The latter are mainly owned by the aerospace forces of China, the European Union, India, Israel, the Islamic Caliphate, the Pacific Rim Alliance, Pakistan, Russia, the Transpacific Socialist Alliance, and the United States. Since the Pacific War, they have been on high alert. If a new space conflict occurs, the action will be exceptionally quick and deadly, as ranges are close enough that evasion is all but impossible. Some nations are believed to have camouflaged extra weapons as civilian satellites. The Revised Outer Space Treaty recognizes the right to enforce a 10-mile approach limit around military satellites.

There are about 400 permanently manned space stations in Earth orbit. The largest is China's Taiko Station spaceport (HEO, transient population 30,000, CR 5), the first stop for many would-be Mars travelers. Rivaling it in size is the Columbia Deep Space Port (transient population 7,000, CR 4), also in HEO. Many older stations are 'soda can' habitats constructed between the 2030s and 2050s (before the dominance of big laser rockets) from Chinese, Indian, and Korean heavy-lift vehicle fuel tanks. They are 'ghetto' accommodations, often in bad shape: leaking air, low on power, possessing unreliable life support, and infested with fungi or discarded microbots. Investors buy them cheap and rent them to fly-by-night orbital developers, who generally subdivide them into multiple rooms, perform minimal refurbishment, and sublet them to dubious nanotech startup companies. Tracing ownership of these facilities can be difficult.

Luna, the natural satellite of Earth, is a large rocky body like the four inner planets, although it has only one-sixth Earth's gravity, no atmosphere, and no magnetic field. It was created 4.5 billion years ago when a giant asteroid struck Earth and blasted debris into space; this debris coalesced to form the moon. Luna is tidally locked with Earth, so the near side always faces Earth and the far side always faces away. There is no 'dark side of the moon', really, as all areas get sunlight half the time, but as on Mercury, some deep craters near the poles are in permanent shadow. These were discovered to contain small ice deposits.

With no atmosphere to burn up incoming meteors, Luna had been an exposed target in a cosmic shooting gallery for billions of years. The Lunar landscape is dominated by overlapping impact craters. They range in size from a few feet across to the giant South Pole-Aitken Basin (1,400 miles wide and 7.5 miles deep) on the far side, the largest impact crater in the solar system. The Lunar landscape varies considerably between the near and far sides. Flat maria - giant asteroid impact craters whose surfaces were later smoothed over by basalt lava flows - cover one-sixth of Luna, and are concentrated on the near side. Most of the far side and much of the near side is made up of the lunar highlands, formed from interlocking large and small craters.

The Lunar surface is covered with regolith, a loose fine-grained material with two major components: dusty rock and mineral particles, and agglutinates, mineral and rock welded together by glass produced in meteor impacts. The regolith is exposed directly to the solar wind. This has seeded it with useful volatiles, including traces of both hydrogen and He-3. In addition, about half the mass of Lunar rocks is made up of oxygen, and there are also economically useful quantities of iron, aluminum, and titanium. However, Luna is incredibly dry, with the only water ice being found intermixed with regolith on the north and south poles.

Luna's population prides itself on being a multinational cosmopolitan society on the cutting edge of Earth's technology. The major industries include He-3 mining (exporting it to Earth), ice and oxygen mining (for domestic consumption and export to Earth-Lunar stations), and heavy manufacturing, especially using processes considered dangerous or polluting on Earth. Much of Luna's infrastructure is owned by the large Euro-Japanese industrial combines System Technologies, Vosper-Babbage, and Tenzan Heavy Industries. The importance of He-3 mining to the Lunar economy is declining due to competition with Saturn. The Lunar combines have diversified into manufacturing and tourism, but even so, there are fears that Luna may become an economic backwater.

The majority of lunar 'warrens' are underground to provide cosmic-ray and solar-flare shielding. Due to their subterranean lifestyle, Lunar inhabitants are nicknamed 'rabbits'. They rarely venture onto the surface themselves, but many have logged surface time in telepresence, especially during school years. Almost all are gene-enhanced, and Luna is very tolerant of aesthetic biomodification. However, econiche parahumans are rare; Luna's environment is simply too unforgiving to make adapting to it worthwhile.

Luna City (population 254,000) is the largest settlement. It is located in Shackleton Crater on the Lunar South Pole, sitting atop major ice deposits. It is a free city, but under the thumb of Euro-Japanese and transnational space corporations. Luna City was badly damaged in an accident in 2100, and part of the infrastructure has been rebuilt as a high-biotech city by Biotech Euphrates.

Farside Observatory (population 300) is located in Tsiolkovsky crater on the far side, and is the oldest settlement on the moon. It is a huge distributed array of radio and optical telescopes. Strict emission control regulations are enforced on Farside to avoid interference with the observatory's activities.

Tranquility Industrial Zone (population 23,000) is scattered across over 100 square miles in the Mare Tranquility region on the near side. An early center for HE-3 mining operations, it also boasts Port Tranquility, the largest surface spaceport, and the adjacent 'Helium City' manufacturing center. In this thriving economic zone, cybershells outnumber humans by more than 10 to 1. Much of Helium City is above ground and in vacuum. The surrounding waste dumps, mine pits, and junkyards are alive with industrial microbots who often prey on one another even as they seek to salvage material. The zone is now devoted more to industrial activities than He-3 mining.

Moonshadow (population 5,800) is a major tourist center, health spa and adventure park located in a planned community by shadow ice deposits on the north pole. It is largely owned by SpaTek corporation.

There are hundreds of other outposts on the moon, from oxygen mines to factory crawlers to science labs. Some of them are owned by individual corporations, others by nations, a few by individuals.

Diameter: 2,160 miles
Mass: 0.0123 Earth masses.
Density: 3.34 g/cm3.
Gravity: 0.165 G.
Escape Velocity: 1 mps.
To Orbit: 0.7 mps.
Rotational Period: 27.3 days.
Orbital Period: 27.3 days.
Solar Day: 29.3 days.
Atmosphere: Vacuum.
Surface Water: Ice traces in shadowed polar craters.
Temperature: -380 to 250F (extremes). Mean -240F (night) to 220F (day).
Population: 290,000.
Control Rating: 2 to 4.
Spaceports: Large spaceports at Port Tranquility and Luna City, numerous small spaceports.

These are locations in Earth-Lunar space where the gravitational pull and orbital forces of the Earth and Luna cancel each other out. There are five Lagrange points, but L4 (located 60 degrees ahead of Luna's orbit around the Earth) and L5 (located 60 degrees behind its orbit) are especially stable. An object placed there will stay there, orbiting the L4 or L5 point while being carried along by Earth and Luna as they orbit the sun. National space agencies and industrial combines began placing hardware (ranging from telescopes to service stations) in the L4 and L5 points in the early 21st century. In the 2040s, the first manned stations were built, supporting Lunar and asteroid prospecting missions. Between 2050 and 2080, Earth-crossing asteroids were moved into the L4 and L5 points for mining. They provided the raw materials to build the many industrial stations and space habitats that exist today. The majority of people live in hollowed-out asteroids or smaller work stations. Only a few giant O'Neill cylinder colonies were constructed, and only after growing space populations, fusion power, and asteroid retrieval made them affordable.

Colonies within the same Lagrange point are usually within 500 miles of each other: the closer they orbit the Lagrange point, the more stable their orbits. Their close proximity means that cheap, lightly built space taxis or scooters can be used to visit neighboring stations. However, some colonies restrict foreign visits to avoid memetic pollution or out of fear of espionage.

L4 is the more gentrified of the two Lagrange points. It was the first to be extensively settled, and is now home to a few dozen large colony habitats with a combined population of well over a million people, as well as numerous smaller manned and unmanned stations. Most of the stations were established by governments, major corporations, or well-funded ideological groups.

Islandia, the crown jewel and cultural capital of L4, is a hollow pair of linked cylinders several miles long. Inside is a fully landscaped interior with its own towns, farms, and factories. Islandia is a giant industrial park, resort, and tax-free economic zone built by a coalition of economic interests headed by the orbital and lunar transnationals System Technologies and Tenzan Heavy Industries. The culture is similar to Luna, and is home to a number of transhumanist groups. Islandia has a population of 497,000. It incorporates a large spaceport and is CR 2.

The other L4 stations come in all shapes and sizes, from Bernal spheres and wheel-shaped toruses to cheap 'tin cans'. In addition to corporate spaceyards and factories, its several ideological colonies include Margaret (pop. 51,000), a successful experiment in forming a women-only society, Deseret (pop. 32,000), a Mormon colony, and the MacLarren Unity (pop. 4,800) populated by clones of billionaire genius Hiroshi MacLarren.

L5 is known as the 'junk jungle.' A great deal of older hardware in HEO, L4, and Lunar orbit has been towed out to L5 by salvage teams, simply to reduce the risk of debris collisions. It is often resold at scrap prices to whoever wants it, as building material or low-rent habitations. A few captured asteroids are also present, some so heavily mined that they were judged structurally unsound.

This collection of tin cans, 'Swiss cheese' asteroids, and other junk is presently home to a sizable population of scavengers, exiles, dissidents, and homesteaders. The L5 explosion occurred in the 2080s, after the development of inexpensive anti-radiation nano made it possible to live in much cheaper space habitats by skimping on shielding. L5 has become a huge trailer park in space. Its inhabitants include many economic refuges and members of fringe ideological groups who split off from orbital stations, L4 colonies, or Luna, to seek their fortunes or to escape persecution. L5 colonies range in population from a few dozen to several thousand people; the smaller colonies are not self-supporting, but survive through contract work for the larger ones. The total population of L5 is uncertain, since some of the ideological colonies have used artificial wombs and cloning to replicate themselves. It could be 40,000-50,000.

L5 natives are nicknamed 'elfs' (not elves). Successful Elf colonies include the libertarian preservationists of Cornerstone (population 12,000) and the Christian transhumanists of Seventh Heaven (population 7,000). A few mainstream groups have also located here due to the cheap real estate, and so there are some factory stations, artist's colonies, and research stations. Other Elf colonies are disasters waiting to happen, subsistence operations on the brink of collapse, havens for runaway bioroids, zero-G sweatshops, or petty fiefdoms rife with human rights abuses. There's usually at least one humanitarian crisis every few months, ranging from life support failure to cult suicides to runaway nanoplagues. If a situation is dramatic enough to lead to media coverage, government or nongovernment agencies may intervene to prevent total disaster or clean up afterward. Nevertheless, like many ghettos, L5 possesses a dynamic culture all its own, and some people wouldn't live anywhere else in the system.

Mars is the fourth planet out from the sun. Half the diameter of Earth and much less massive, Mars' weak gravity sustained only a tenuous atmosphere. The only water in its cold dry climate was locked in polar ice, deep subsurface aquifers, or layers of seasonal permafrost.

Terraforming has changed this. The atmosphere is now much thicker (though still very thin compared to Earth's). The air has too high a percentage of carbon dioxide to be breathable by unmodified humans, but a person with an air mask, oxygen tank, and warm clothing can walk safely on Mars with no need for a pressure suit, and modified plants, animals, and even humans can flourish there. Mars remains colder than Earth, with exceptionally harsh winters. Although irrigated areas exist and simple genemod plants such as lichens are spreading, much of the planet is still cold rock-strewn desert, twisted canyons, and barren mountains. Most of the water is in the Marineris and Borealis Seas, but a few large lakes also exist.

The pioneer spirit is alive and well on Mars, with a dynamic population who believe they are building a second home for humanity. Habitations on Mars are a mix of domed, surface, and underground complexes. The largest settlement is China's New Shanghai, but the multinational 'free city' of Port Lowell is also booming, serving as a de-facto capital for many smaller national colonies and corporate operations.

Thanks to the space elevator, Mars is experiencing rapid immigration and financial growth. New construction is ongoing, businesses are booming, and sharp entrepreneurs are everywhere, investing, opening up the outback, building homes and farms and factories. Every few months the night sky comes alive (and the cautious head to shelters) as a man-made comet - a redirected Kuiper Belt Object - grazes the atmosphere, adding its load of water and gas to thicken the air. The optimists believe Mars will be fully habitable in 100 years - possibly within their lifetimes. The planet is changing as they watch, and they are changing with it, each generation adapting to the new conditions.

The Martian population is a mix of native-born parahumans (many of them altered to breathe Martian air), indentured bioroids, and immigrants from Earth (some with Mars-adaptive biomods). As space travel has become cheaper, a growing number of tourists and business travelers visit from Earth and Luna.

The largest political entity is China's Mars Province, universally known by its nickname 'Rust China.' It covers millions of square miles centered on Pavonis Mons (foundation of the Elevator) and the west end of the Marineris Sea. It is an autonomous region (like Hong Kong) of the People's Republic of China with a socialist market economy. Half the population of Mars are Chinese, and immigration is continuing, as Rust China's prosperity draws settlers from Earth. A peculiarity is its high proportion of indentured bioroids. These make up a visible underclass, and are a remnant of the earlier decades of Mars colonization, where China was desperate to increase its population even if it meant mass-producing not-quite-people in artificial wombs.

The second largest colony is the United States' Martian Commonwealth, with a status similar to that of Puerto Rico at the end of the 20th century. It is roughly one-third the area of Rust China, and lies at the east end of the Marineris. A few other countries, notably Peru, have founded smaller national colonies, and there are also outback settlements that do their best to ignore governments. The rest of the population is of mixed ethnic background.

The diversity of interests on Mars often leads to friction. Rust China and the United States' Martian Commonwealth cooperate on terraforming, and there is plenty of commercial and private commerce between both colonies. Nevertheless, they are longtime rivals, with tensions heightened since America's He-3 embargo during the Pacific War. Some Americans are jealous of China's superior position on Mars; some Chinese fear the United States plots to weaken Rust China. Each side has sizable military garrisons, and espionage is common. In addition, there is some tension among other colonies. Peru's Mars colony mostly sat out the Pacific War, but it is a TSA member, and remains at odds with its neighbors, accused of harboring nanosocialist agitators and memetic warfare teams.

In addition to international conflict, a growing number of Martians support complete independence from Earth - the 'Free Mars' movement. This meme is vigorously opposed by China, less so by the United States (another source of Sino-American conflict). Mars is also the home of the Martian Triad criminal syndicate, whose depredations extend well beyond Rust China. Other sources of conflict are radical fringe groups who have resorted to terrorism to get their message across. These range from Preservationist extremists who want to drive humans from the Red Planet to Free Mars radicals and bioroid rights crusaders. The most dangerous group is Negative Growth.

Phobos: This moon is 7 miles in diameter, with microgravity and no atmosphere. It resembles an ice-and-rock asteroid. Portions of Phobos were tunneled out by early ice miners. The moon houses the China Aerospace and Xiao Chu corporation's Mars spaceyard. On the surface, many spacedock bays and external-cradle landing pads swarm with hundreds of manned work pods, spacesuited bioroids, and microgravity worker cybershells. The south pole of the moon is a restricted area containing the headquarters of China's Deep Space Fleet. Large spaceport, population 3,000, CR 5-6.

Deimos: This moon is 4 miles in diameter, and similar to Phobos. It is being used to anchor the Martian space elevator. It is now the upper half of Mars' primary orbital spaceport. Like Phobos, it has been extensively tunneled. The inhabited areas and surface house a busy aerospace port. Security is high (CR 6) due to terrorist attempts to sabotage the space elevator.

The Space Elevator: Perhaps the greatest engineering wonder in the solar system, this 'beanstalk' is a 10,000-mile-long nanofactured cable connecting Deimos and New Shanghai. It takes two days to travel up or down by cable car.

Mars Orbit: There are thousands of satellites and dozens of space stations in orbit, from global positioning and communication satellites to orbital factories. The United States and China (and to a lesser extent, other governments) also maintain many armed space defense platforms. These are on higher alert than those in Earth, due to ongoing tensions, and the perception of some strategists, not yet tested, that someone could start a 'limited war' on Mars without an all-out escalation on Earth.

High Arcadia: A luxury theme park located inside a small O'Neill colony built in high orbit. The park has an ancient Greek theme and is inhabited by many genemod uplifted animals, cybershells, and exotic bioroids patterned after Greek mythology, as well as other adventure and cultural activities drawn from classical Greek culture. The park has only recently come online. A controversial element of High Arcadia is that many of its 'native' inhabitants have been brought up to believe they really are living in mythic Greece.

Orbital Mirrors: A fleet of orbital mirrors reflects light down on Mars to assist with terraforming. The mirrors are hundreds of miles across and made of metallized fabric. They incorporate thrusters for station-keeping.

Diameter: 4,223 miles
Mass: 0.107 Earth masses.
Density: 3.9 g/cm3.
Gravity: 0.38 G.
Escape Velocity: 3.1 mps.
To Orbit: 2.2 mps.
Rotational Period: 24.6 hours.
Orbital Period: 1.88 years.
Solar Day: 24.7 days.
Atmosphere: Very Thin (0.4 atm.).
Atmospheric Composition: 45% carbon dioxide, 27% oxygen, 21% nitrogen, 2% argon, 5% other.
Surface Water: 20%.
Temperature: 20F (average).
Population: 2.5 million.
Moons: Two: Deimos and Phobos.
Control Rating: 1 to 4.
Spaceports: Large spaceports at Phobos and New Shanghai. Multiple small spaceports; numerous space stations in orbit. Space elevator.

“We've been on Ceres five weeks and you're still arguing over what kind of spin-gravity habitat we should put in orbit. Fah! You want weight? Crawl back to Mars, and start begging. The statists might let you land before they put a bullet in your brain. Cole habitat or spin habitat, it doesn't matter. Build either one, and it's theme park Earth. When our kids go outside to work, sure as taxes, they'll screw up. Their reflexes won't be space-adapted, they'll be scared of a puncture or a blowout, and we'll never be able to compete. Face up, everyone: we made a mistake on Mars. Sure, gengineering the Mars bacteria was the right road, but we were heading down it the wrong way! Let's stop trying to create little Earths, and embrace the reality of our environment. We can adapt our unborns, try Katsuki's calcium hack. Tunnel into this rock, make it our home, and come to terms with microgravity. Once we've done it here, we can do it anywhere in the Belt, or beyond. Let the statists squat on Mars. Our children will inherit a greater domain, and call all of space their home.” – Duncanite leader Maya Payne, 2063

The Main Belt is a region between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, 2 to 4 AU from the sun, that contains the majority of asteroids in the solar system. Asteroids are rocky bodies which orbit the sun, but are too small to be considered planets themselves. They are leftover detritus from the birth of our solar system, prevented by Jupiter's strong gravity from forming into a planet. That was 4.6 billion years ago. Since then, countless collisions have shattered most larger asteroids into smaller ones, and left many of the remainder nothing more than fragments loosely held together by gravity.

Asteroids vary greatly in size. There are 16 large Main Belt asteroids 150 miles or more in diameter, of which the biggest is Ceres, a spherical miniplanet 527 miles across. There are thousands of mid-size asteroids between 10 and 100 miles in diameter, over a million with diameters of half a mile or more, and billions of orbiting rocks from boulder to pebble size. Even so, the total mass of all asteroids, if they could be combined together, is barely enough to form a single moon-sized object about half the diameter of Luna.

Except for a few large bodies like Ceres and Vesta, asteroids tend to have irregular shapes, much like chunks of gravel. Sometimes two asteroids are mashed together as a result of a collision, and end up with very odd shapes.

Asteroids come in several distinct types. The asteroids in the innermost region of the Main Belt (2 to 2.5 AU from the sun) tend to be stony-irons, made of a mix of iron and silicate rock, with a smattering of large chunks of nickel-iron. The middle regions of the Belt from 2.5 to 3 AU are a blend of stony-irons and soot-covered carbonaceous asteroids. These are formed from frozen hydrocarbon sludge mixed with rock and metal chunks, and from 3 AU onward, water ice. From 3 AU to 4 AU, carbonaceous asteroids are the dominant type. Almost all asteroids contain traces of rare minerals, ranging from platinum to uranium. Since even a fairly small asteroid can mass billions of tons, even trace amounts can represent vast concentrations of ore.

Despite the mineral wealth of the Belt, the asteroids are not alive with hardy prospectors hunting for platinum, gold, uranium, or even ice. Asteroids are mined, but the process is different.

Asteroids whose orbits approach within 1.3 AU of the sun or cross Earth's orbit are known as near-Earth asteroids (NEAs). They are mostly fragments of Main Belt asteroids or the cores of comets whose course has been altered sunward due to collisions with other asteroids or the gravitation influence of Jupiter. NEAs include stony-irons, carbonaceous, and nickel-iron bodies. NEAs are grouped into three categories, named for the first asteroid of each type discovered:

Amors: Asteroids which cross Mars. orbit but do not quite reach the orbit of Earth.

Apollos: Asteroids which cross Earth's orbit with a period greater than once a year.

Atens: Asteroids which cross Earth's orbit with a period less than once a year.

NEAs range from pebbles to about 25 miles across. A few thousand are half a mile or more in diameter. NEAs were the first asteroids to be intensively studied, as they posed a risk to human civilization from collisions. They were also the first to be visited by manned expeditions, and the first to be mined. Many NEAs, including some on dangerous Earth-crossing orbits, have been moved via mass driver into the L4 and L5 points, where they have been used as construction material for space habitats and resources for space factories.

There are more than 100 populated asteroids in the Main Belt, ranging from large habitats with a thousand or more people to tiny 'gas stations' with fewer than a dozen inhabitants. The present population of the asteroid belt is estimated at over 50,000 people, and growing rapidly. Most are farmers, engineers, and researchers, but large stations support diverse occupations.

People aren't looking for precious minerals in the asteroids. Instead, they want freedom. The Duncanites came here fleeing persecution on Mars, and other groups have followed, looking to escape the Babylon of Earth and seek new opportunities to do as they wihs. Offworld colonies like Mars, Luna, and Islandia are willing and able to send their square pegs elsewhere, and as the cost of getting into space has fallen, a growing number of Earth-based groups have also funded asteroid colonies to provide places to practice beliefs or policies free of interference.

Corporations have also come to the Belt, seeking the freedom to establish research stations where they don't have to file environmental impact statements or worry about offending the neighbors. It's where people experiment with nanoviruses, self-replicating robots, and antimatter. It's also the site for more controversial experiments in genetic engineering and biogenesis, as it's usually well beyond the reach of would-be protesters and preservationist activists.

A bit of actual asteroid mining does go on in the Main Belt, but only to supply the needs of existing communities both here and in the Jovian and Saturn systems.

Beehive habitats are three-dimensional mazes of tunnels and chambers burrowed into an asteroid. They are microgravity environments. Beehive habitats normally have some surface installations such as landing pads, airlocks, vents, tool sheds, and antennae dishes. For energy, beehive habitats use solar panels in the inner system or nuclear reactors (fission or fusion) in the outer system. Many are constantly expanding, as their inhabitants (or their machines) tunnel deeper in the asteroid every year. If designed to be self-supporting, they will have hydroponics or fauxflesh vats.

Cole habitats are metallic asteroids that were melted and reshaped to create hollow cylindrical metal-hulled stations, then spun to produce artificial gravity on their inner surfaces. Cole habitats may be terraformed with soil and plants, and use mirrors or fusion power to light their interiors.

Gas Stations may be beehives or Cole habitats. Usually built into ice-rich carbonaceous asteroids, they are service stations providing water or hydrogen reaction mass, maintenance, or other amenities. Some stockpile nuclear pellet fuel (for pulse drive engines) as well. A typical gas station also includes maintenance facilities and occasionally shops, motel, and entertainment facilities. Populations range from zero (completely automated) to a few hundred people, depending on sophistication and the services offered. Many gas stations are independent, but a growing number are corporate or corporate franchises, often owned by Vosper-Babbage, Tenzan Heavy Industries, Titan Consortium, and others. A few deep space forces also operate gas stations.

Here is a representative sampling of the larger Main Belt habitats. All asteroids are microgravity vacuum environments with minimal escape and 'to orbit' velocities. The first name is the asteroid's name and designation; the second name is the name settlers gave to their colony.

The largest asteroid in the Main Belt, Ceres is a carbonaceous body with a diameter of 527 miles. Silas Duncan Station is the original Duncanite settlement, a beehive habitat with a population of 16,600 living in an anarcho-capitalist society. It is the headquarters of Avatar Klusterkorp and the Green Duncanites. Major activities include radical human genetic engineering, bioroid design, bioroid education techniques, pantropy research, and asteroid habitat engineering. Silas Duncan Station has a large spaceport and is CR 1. There are a half-dozen smaller Duncanite habitats on Ceres, established by different families and companies; it's a big asteroid.

The second-largest asteroid, Pallas is a carbonaceous body with a diameter of 309 miles. Hesheng is a beehive habitat with a population of 6,700, many of them microgravity-adapted bioroids. It was settled by China's Xiao Chu corporation and is home to their major nanotechnology research laboratory. Hesheng has a small spaceport and is CR 4.

Vesta is a rocky asteroid with a diameter of 291 miles. Exogenesis Station is a beehive habitat that houses the Exogenesis corporation's main laboratories and manufacturing complex. A small asteroid was moved into Vesta orbit and converted into a Cole habitat for agricultural and residential use. Vesta has a population of 7,200, mostly researchers and engineers. Many are bioshells and cybershells housing ghosts, shadows, and sapient AIs. The station was the scene of a serious labor dispute last year, and is presently occupied by Executive Decisions Incorporated security forces under the auspices of Nanodynamics. The situation remains tense. It has a small spaceport and is CR 5.

Hygiea is a carbonaceous asteroid with a diameter of 253 miles. Yametei Station is a beehive habitat with a population of 2,400. It is the Main Belt headquarters of Tenzan Heavy Industries and a colony of Japan. Its major activity is manufacturing high-technology goods (such as industrial cybershells, 3D printers, and fusion reactors) for sale to other outer system operations. There is a Duncanite guest worker immigrant population of 100-200 people, mostly Avatar Tennin. Small spaceport, CR 3.

Aletheia is a carbonaceous asteroid with a diameter of 111 miles. Its busy beehive habitat (population 5,500) houses the Main Belt headquarters of Vosper-Babbage and Hawking Industries, as well as a Royal Navy Space Service base. Aletheia Station is a colony of the United Kingdom. In orbit around Aletheia are three other small asteroids converted into Cole habitats and containing residential areas and farmland. Major activities include robotics research and development and spacecraft manufacture, servicing, and upgrading, mostly catering to other Main Belt clients. Small spaceport with spaceyard, CR 4.

Shezbeth is the solid core of a Kuiper Belt Object, originally located some 40 AU from the sun. At considerable expense, it was moved into the Main Belt, arriving in 2114. It now orbits Aletheia, where the Muldoon black hole is being studied and used as a gravitic fusion plant to power high-energy physics experiments.

Davida is a carbonaceous asteroid with a diameter of 203 miles. New Covenant is a beehive habitat with a population of 4,000. It was founded by Christian hyperevolutionists from the Seventh Heaven L5 colony. It is a cyberdemocratic theocracy in which believers in good standing are chosen at random to serve as ruling ministers. It is a haven for digital creationist activists, and harbors several 'liberated' sapient AIs as citizens. There is also a colony of Astropus sapient uplifts - space-adapted octopuses - who broke away from Exogenesis with a few stolen SAI programs and are seeking sanctuary (and looking to convert). Major economic activities include development of computer hardware, new brain implants, intelligence augmentation, and uploading technology. Small spaceport, CR 1.

Interamnia is a carbonaceous asteroid with a diameter of 197 miles. This asteroid houses a gas station and Plymouth Rock homestead composed of six extended families (population 50). Interamnia has a smaller terraformed Cole habitat orbiting it housing farms (raising animals for food!), plus various facilities for entertaining visiting spacer crews. CR 2, and has a space dock.

As there are millions of asteroids and a hundred or so stations, the GM should feel free to create additional asteroid bases of varying purpose and population. Many are run by small groups, often with counterculture beliefs: cults, racial supremacists, survivalists, and others. Most are 2 to 4 AU from Earth.

The outer system extends from beyond the Main Belt to the heliopause. Half a billion miles or more from the sun, well beyond the freezing point of water, the majority of celestial bodies are giant balls of gas or frozen ice and rock.

Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system, with a diameter 11 times that of Earth and over 300 times its mass. Its upper atmosphere is shrouded in alternating bands of light and dark red, brown, and white ammonia clouds. Jupiter's weather is violent, with hurricane-force winds and cyclones vaster than planets that rage for centuries at a time. Beneath the clouds lies the true Jupiter: a vast superdense atmosphere of hydrogen and helium, thousands of miles deep, that gradually turns liquid as the pressure increases. Under this strange ocean is a hot, electrically conductive layer of liquid metallic hydrogen, surrounding a solid core about the size of Earth.

Jupiter's gravity is also impressive, exerting a major influence on other smaller bodies like asteroids and comets. The high gravity and equally high escape velocity is one reason the Titan Consortium chose to perform gas mining operations around more distant Saturn. The other reason is radiation.

Jupiter has a powerful magnetic field, and when charged particles from the solar wind become trapped in its magnetosphere, they are accelerated to very high velocities, creating deadly belts of radiation similar to but far more powerful than Earth's Van Allen belts. The orbits of several of Jupiter's moons pass through this zone, endangering would-be visitors.

Like Saturn, Jupiter is orbited by rings. Jupiter's are darker and less extensive, composed of small rocky grains and gravel chunks rather than ice.

Manned exploration of Jupiter is presently impossible, but telepresence and cybershell probes have ventured beneath its clouds, and a few have penetrated into the liquid hydrogen seas. There are currently several dozen cybershells engaged in planetary exploration, mostly for scientific foundations.

Jupiter's atmosphere has some of the ingredients for life, but so far no life has been found. This has not stopped some among the Green Duncanites from investigating the possibility of creating Jovian life.

Jupiter has not been colonized, but human settlements have been placed on some of its many moons. Transjovian space is a new frontier. The prizes for development are water ice (refined into oxygen and hydrogen, for life support and reaction mass) and gravity (for slingshot effects), and Europa itself.

Diameter: 88,850 miles.
Mass: 317.8 Earths.
Density: 1.33 g/cm3.
Gravity: 2.36 G.
Escape Velocity: 37 mps.
To Orbit: 26 mps.
Rotational Period: 9.9 hours.
Orbital Period: 11.86 years.
Atmospheric Composition: 90% hydrogen, 10% helium, traces of other elements, mostly ammonia and methane.
Temperature: -240F (cloud tops).
Moons: 28+ including Metis, Adrastea, Amalthea, Thebe, Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Leda, Himalia, Lysithea, Elara, Anake, Carme, Pasiphae, Sinope, and many smaller hill and boulder-sized bodies.

Europa is the sixth moon of Jupiter, the third-largest, and the first to be visited by humans. It is slightly smaller than Luna, and the surface is exposed to Jupiter's radiation belt. Europa is lightly cratered, with only three large impact sites. Its bright surface consists of a 6- to 10-mile-thick crust of water ice, scored by ridges and lines. It resembles sea ice on Earth - which is not surprising. The ice covers a vast salt-water ocean, warmed by tidal heating. The ocean is 60 miles depe, and holds more water than does Earth's! Europa's orbit around Jupiter creates stresses that flex the moon's core, causing hydrothermal vents to open in the ocean floor. These 'hot smokers' create conditions where extraterrestrial life has evolved: the vents are fiery geysers surrounded by bacteria-encrusted rocks.

Life on Europa consists of two basic bacterial ecologies: cold-loving psychrophiles in the oceans, and various thermophiles near the volcanic vents. The latter, Parapyrobulus europae, have some similarities to the terrestrial vent-form bacteria Pyrolobus fumarii. There is fleeting evidence of larger organisms.

There are three major bases on Europa. All are tunneled deep into the ice. Each installation has one or two well shafts that lead down a few miles to the ocean itself. The surface facilities are many hundreds of miles apart, and as a result, above-ground contact between them is minimal. Bases were established in craters, where the ice has already been partially cracked.

CRABE: The oldest base on Europa, populated by 70 astrobiologists and support staff. It is located in the 16-mile wide Pwyll impact crater. Europa station controls several cybershell research submarines and numerous swarms of swimmer microbots. CRABE is financed by the E.U.: the name stands for Centre de Recherche AstroBiologique d'Europa.

Genesis Station: This is a Green Duncanite colony operated by Avatar Klusterkorp. It is located in the Thera Macula region, an area of jumped 'chaos terrain' formed when a plume of warm water melted through the ice. Genesis Station has been seeding Europa with hybrid terrestrial life forms modified to survive in the vent environment. Recent attacks on its facilities have led to Avatar importing its own defenses. The 'War Under the Ice' may escalate.

Manann'an Station: This facility was a former ESA base, later abandoned due to budget cuts. It was refurbished and taken over by a private astrobiology research foundation. The foundation is actually a front for the Europa Defense Force, a radical preservationist group. The EDF has imported armed mini-subs and bioroid soldiers, and has begun a program aimed at eradicating the Genesis forms. The station occupies part of the 19-mile wide Manann'an crater near Europa's trailing hemisphere.

Distance from Jupiter: 0.0045 AU.
Diameter: 1,950 miles.
Mass: 0.008 Earths.
Density: 3 g/cm3.
Gravity: 0.13 G.
Escape Velocity: 1.2 mps.
To Orbit: 0.87 mps.
Rotational Period: 3.55 days.
Orbital Period: 3.55 days.
Surface Water: Ice on surface. Ocean covers 100% of moon under ice.
Temperature: -260F.
Atmosphere: Traces of oxygen; effectively vacuum.
Population: 500 (uncertain).
Spaceports: None; spacedocks at each base.
Control Rating: CR 0.

Jupiter has 16 moons 10 miles or more in diameter, and several smaller moons. The largest moons are the four discovered by Galileo: Io, Ganymede, Europa, and Callisto. The innermost moons share their orbits with multiple rings formed from small boulders (a few yards across), pebbles, and dust particles.

This moon is about the same size as Luna, but is unique in the solar system. It looks a bit like a hot pizza. Its proximity to Jupiter, Ganymede, and Europa causes massive tidal flexing, torturing Io's geology. The mountainous surface is alive with active volcanoes, which send plumes 200 miles into the sky, and violent moon-shaking quakes. Flows of sodium-rich lava stretch for hundreds of mile. The temperature range is dramatic, from 3,000F rivers and lakes of molten lava to -225F elsewhere. Io is heavily irradiated by Jupiter's radiation belt.

Io Base: Exogenesis has a cybershell presence on Io, with a few automated bases and an estimated population of about 300 sapient infomorphs. No human has ever visited its surface. There have been unconfirmed reports of conflict between bases, following the recent Exogenesis labor dispute.

Io is 0.0028 AU from Jupiter. It has a diameter of 2,263 miles, a gravity of 0.183 G, and an escape velocity of 1.6 mps. It has a small spaceport and CR 0.

Ganymede is the largest moon in the solar system, bigger than Mercury or Pluto. It is mostly dirty ice over a rocky core. The temperature is a chilly -250F. Like Europa, Ganymede has a deep ocean of salt water underneath its ice. However, Ganymede's ocean is far less accessible: 60 miles beneath the moon's frozen surface. There is no evidence (so far) of hydrothermal vents or life forms.

Ganymede is 0.0071 AU from Jupiter. It has a diameter of 3,270 miles, a gravity of 0.145 G, and an escape velocity of 1.7 mps (1.2 mps to orbit). It is unpopulated, but occasionally visited by scientific missions.

The second-largest of Jupiter's moons, icy Callisto is the most heavily cratered body in the solar system, although it has no large mountains. Callisto is far enough from Jupiter that radiation is minimal (0.01 rads/day) and is big enough that its crust contains minerals as well as ice. The surface temperature is a chilly -233F. Like Ganymede, Callisto has a nearly inaccessible subsurface ocean buried deep beneath its ice.

Asgard Station: The large ringed Asgard crater is home to a manufacturing base and robofac complex established by Nanodynamics. Asgard is intended to supply operations in the Main Belt and Titan. Asgard has a population of 400 and is growing. A mass driver has been built to hurl ice out to other colonies in the inner and outer system. It has a small spaceport and CR 2.

Valhalla Station: A colony founded by Red Duncanites from Liang Mountain, in Valhalla crater. Originally a mining station, it is currently used as a data haven and production center for gray-market mind emulations. The facility was originally located in Bangkok, but following the fall of the Thai government, was moved first to Lagrange 5, and later (in partnership with the Duncanites) to Callisto. It has a small spaceport. Population 100. CR 0.

Callisto is 0.0125 AU from Jupiter. It has a diameter of 2,986 miles and a gravity of 0.127 G. Its escape velocity is 1.5 mps.

Jupiter has a few dozen smaller moons beyond the orbit of Callisto. These range in size from a couple of miles to 112 miles in diameter. They are all cratered ice-and-rock bodies, probably captured asteroids, many with highly eccentric orbits. A few have been visited, but no known settlements exist.

The Trojans are loose collections of asteroids located at Jupiter's Trojan points, a pair of locations where the gravity of Jupiter and the sun cancel out, creating areas of gravitational stability similar to the L4 and L5 points in the Earth-Moon system. The asteroids are named after heroes from the Trojan War. The 'leading' or 'Greek' Trojans are located 60 degrees ahead of Jupiter in its orbit and consist of about 1,300 sizable asteroids (over 10 miles across) and countless smaller ones. Similarly, the 'trailing' or 'Trojan' Trojans are 60 degrees behind Jupiter, with over 1,000 sizable asteroids and many smaller ones.

The asteroids at each Trojan Point are in very loose clusters, with a density not much greater than the Main Belt. Many are not even directly in the plane of Jupiter's orbit, but have declinations up to 40 degrees and right ascensions up to 70 degrees from the actual true Trojan Point.

Trojan asteroids have somewhat different compositions than the asteroids in the Main Belt. The majority of Trojan asteroids are 'D-type' dark-colored bodies. These are similar to carbonaceous asteroids, but with a high proportion of carbon polymers and organic-rich silicates.

The majority of settlers in the Trojans have been members of the 'Red Duncanite' splinter group. Most of the population are Tennin Avatar parahumans and various bioroids and infomorphs.

911 Agamemnon - Freehaven: Agamemnon (leading Trojans) has a diameter of 104 miles. Freehaven is a beehive habitat with a population of 2,200. It is a Red Duncanite enclave. It has a small spaceport and CR 0.

1437 Diomedes - Liang Mountain: Diomedes (leading Trojans) has a diameter of 102 miles. Liang Mountain has a population of 1,400 and is one of the headquarters of the so-called 'Trojan Mafia'. It is a left anarchist society. Liang Mountain has a small spaceport and CR 1.

617 Patroclus - Varahamihira Station: Patroclus (trailing Trojans) has a diameter of 88 miles. It houses a research facility run by the Indian National Space Institute (a government body) in conjunction with Bangalore Aerospace Limited and (allegedly) the Indian military. Population 700. Small spaceport, CR 5.

Saturn, the ringed planet, is the sixth one from the sun and the second-largest in the solar system. Saturn is a gas giant like Jupiter, but less dense. Its atmosphere is hazy yellow, with softer bands of deeper shades of yellow and ochre. It rotates quickly for its size, and the atmosphere is cold (-238F) but very turbulent. Equatorial winds can reach 1,100 mph, with wind speed slacking toward the poles.

Saturn's atmosphere is the setting of Titan Consortium's helium-3 gas mining operations. Nuclear-powered drone scoop spacecraft from Cassini Station regularly dive into the atmosphere to retrieve loads of gas. It is processed at Cassini Station, and tankers full of He-3 are launched toward Earth or Mars. Saturn has a radiation belt like Jupiter's, but only about 5% its strength, making it much less of a hazard for space navigation and colonization.

Saturn is orbited by a complex system of multiple rings of icy particles from moons that formed too close to Saturn and which were torn apart by its gravity. Pebble-sized ice pellets occur every few yards, while icebergs the size of houses can be encountered every mile or so. However, all the material in a given ring orbits Saturn at the same velocity and in the same direction, so a spacecraft pilot (or suited astronaut) can match velocity with, and maneuver safely through, the rings. Gravitational interactions with Saturn's moons split the ring system into several different parts. The most visible are the bright, dense 'A' and 'B' rings and the fainter 'C' ring, but the orbits of Saturn's moons result in four distinct ring systems and many subdivisions and gaps. The most notable gap is the Cassini Division, which separates the A and B rings.

The rings are occasionally mined by manned and robot spacecraft to provide water for Titan and other colonies. They are also an excellent place for spacecraft to hide, and there have been reports of rogue AKVs from the Pacific War lurking in the ring system.

Diameter: 74,900 miles.
Mass: 95.2 Earths.
Density: 0.69 g/cm3.
Gravity: 0.91 G.
Escape Velocity: 22 mps.
To Orbit: 15.4 mps.
Rotational Period: 10.7 hours.
Orbital Period: 29.4 years.
Atmospheric Composition: 96% hydrogen, 3% helium, 0.05% methane.
Temperature: -290F (cloud tops).
Population: varies.
Spaceports: Large: Cassini Station, in orbit. Usually unmanned, but inhabited by dozens of AI and ghost-controlled cybershells.
Control Rating: CR 4 at Cassini Station.
Moons: 30+; see below.

Saturn has over 30 moons. The major moons (those with diameters over 70 miles) are Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan, Hyperion, Iapetus, and Phoebe. As with Jupiter's moons, they are primarily water ice with rocky cores, although Enceladus possesses a subsurface ocean like Ganymede.

Human settlements have sprung up on Mimas, Titan, Hyperion, and Rhea.

The innermost large satellite of Saturn, its topography is dominated by Herschel, a huge, deep crater 80 miles wide. As this is one-third the size of Mimas, the moon appears to have a giant 'eye' looking out. Herschel's walls are 3 miles high, and parts of its floor are 6 miles deep. There is a central mountain peak (caused by a pressure rebound from the impact) in the midst of the crater that rises 4 miles off the crater floor. Christian hyperevolutionists from New Covenant Station recently established the Eye of God monastery (population 70) on the peak, which also functions as a resort and biomodification clinic for the faithful.

Mimas is 0.0012 AU from Saturn. It has a diameter of 247 miles, a gravity of 0.0003 G, escape velocity 0.1 mps (to orbit, 0.07 mps) and no atmosphere. The temperature averages -330F. It has a small spaceport and CR 3.

Hyperion's orbit is adjacent to that of Titan. This small moon has a very irregular shape and rotation, making for chaotic terrain and difficult landings! It was originally the hideout of the notorious 'pirates of Hyperion' who raided He-3 shipments during the Pacific War. The pirate base was captured by the 82nd Spaceborne, and Hyperion is now used as a hostile-environment training area and free-fire range. It is posted as a restricted area; a pair of Predator AKVs enforce a quarantine. Spacedock facilities exist.

Hyperion is 0.0097 AU from Saturn. It is an irregular body 255 miles by 162 miles by 136 miles, with variable microgravity (due to its unusual rotation), escape velocity 0.06 mps (0.042 to orbit) and no atmosphere.

The largest of Saturn's icy moons. It is two-thirds water ice, one-third rock. The leading hemisphere is heavily cratered, compared to the smoother trailing hemisphere. Rhea is the home of the USAF's Cassini Air Force Base. It has a population of 1,200, half of them military or dependents.

Rhea is 0.0035 AU from Saturn. It has a diameter of 949 miles, a gravity of 0.027 G, escape velocity 0.4 mps (0.28 mps to orbit), and no atmosphere. The temperature is -280F in the sun, -360F in the shade. It has a large spaceport with a growing Columbia Aerospace spaceyard facility and nuclear-pellet production facility. It is CR 3.

Titan is the second-largest moon in the solar system and the 15th of Saturn's satellites. Its surface is shrouded by orange opaque clouds. It is the only moon to possess an atmosphere with a density comparable to Earth's. Rich in hydrocarbon resources, Titan is the _de facto_ capital of the Deep Beyond and the pride of America's space colonization program.

Titan's composition is about half water ice and half rocky material. It has no magnetic field, but its atmosphere has 1.5 times the surface pressure of Earth, and acts as an effective shield against radiation.

Titan is freezing cold, at -290F. However, its dense atmosphere means humans do not need pressure suits - a heated, specially insulated suit, air tank, and an oxygen mask are sufficient. The atmosphere is primarily molecular nitrogen with 6“ argon, a few percent methane, and traces of water vapor. The breakdown of methane by sunlight in the upper atmosphere forms thick organic photochemical smog (similar to city smog, but much denser). This haze hides the surface from visual observation.

Titan has many Earthlike features, including seas, rainfall, and volcanic activity. However, the seas and lakes are composed of liquid methane, the raindrops are liquid methane, and the 'hot lava' that volcanos spew forth is composed of liquid water and ammonia. Titan's atmosphere has been compared to Earth's primeval soup, and its surface and oceans are a breeding ground for complex organic molecules. The sky is a soft orange, as light shines through the hazy smog. The surface is a pastel landscape of orange, pink, and yellow. The land is cut by rivers and lakes of methane in which ethane icebergs drift. There is one larger body of liquid, the Minoan Sea. The U.S. Titan Territory, the largest human colony, is located on a lowland river nexus known as the Nubian Valley. The small Chinese colony is found near the Mayan Plateau, a region of cryo-volcanic highlands.

The U.S. Titan Territory provides support for numerous manufacturing and fuel processing centers on Saturn's other moons. Titan's low gravity and thick atmosphere make it easy for transatmospheric vehicles with methane-burning fission rockets and fission air-rams to boost into orbit, facilitating export of bulk chemicals to Rhea, the Belt, or even Mars.

The capital of Titan Territory is Huygens City, a cluster of domed habitats with a population of 47,000, surrounded by miles of chemical refineries and factories. Adjacent to it is Port Minos (a large spaceport) and Titan AFB. Life at Huygens has a company-town atmosphere; a sizable chunk of the population are on two- or four-year contracts as teleworkers, AI trainers, or other support staff. In addition, soldiers and workers from Rhea usually show up on liberty every two or three weeks. Minos is famous for its love-doll rental dealerships, capsule hotels, Duncanite curio shops, and simsense vendors. Others prefer to explore Titan in person: backpacking, methane ice skating, and human-powered flight are common. There are several outback research stations, semi-automated robofacs, and experimental farms, some attempting to engineer Titan-adapted life forms. The real colonists of Titan are found here: cybershells and other exotics carefully engineered to make Titan their home. There is some tension between the permanent colonists and the temp workers and soldiers.

Xiao Chu has established a factory complex on Titan, Jiangli Station, supposedly to begin nitrogen mining to support its growing Main Belt operations. This is viewed with alarm by the U.S. military, as the base is rapidly expanding, adding defensive systems and bioroids, some optimized for the environment. Jiangi Station has a population of 1,700 and its own small spaceport.

Titan's combination of low gravity and a dense atmosphere makes it a paradise for aircraft. Transatmospheric vehicles fueled by methane ramjets easily reach orbit. Transport on the surface uses hovercraft, helicopters, and aircraft.

Distance from Saturn: 0.081 AU.
Diameter: 3,200 miles.
Mass: 0.0226 Earths.
Density: 1.88 g/cm3.
Gravity: 0.14 G.
Escape Velocity: 1.6 mps.
To Orbit: 1.12 mps.
Rotational Period: 15.9 days.
Orbital Period: 15.9 days.
Atmospheric Pressure: 1.5 Earth (density is 4.5 Earth).
Atmosphere Composition: 90% nitrogen, 4% methane, 6% argon.
Surface Water: 40% of surface is liquid hydrocarbons.
Temperature: -290F.
Population: 60,000.
Spaceports: Large spaceport (Titan Station, pop. 400) in orbit. Large spaceport (Port Minos and Titan AFB); small spaceport (Jiangli Station) on surface; Titan Orbital Spaceport (small spaceport) in orbit.
Control Rating: CR 3.

Uranus is the seventh planet from the sun. A gas giant like Jupiter, its blue-green color is the result of red light being absorbed by methane in its atmosphere. Unlike other planets, it rotates sideways relative to the plane of the solar system, possibly due to some ancient collision. Uranus is colder and smaller than Saturn and Jupiter, and much more of its mass is a solid core. Its atmosphere is calmer than those of its larger brethren, although still turbulent by terrestrial standards, with winds of 60 to 370 mph.

Uranus has faint rings of dust particles and small rocky boulders, and 21 moons, all fairly unremarkable airless balls of rock and ice. The largest are Titania and Oberon, both just over 900 miles in diameter.

Diameter: 31,800 miles.
Mass: 14.5 Earths.
Density: 1.3 g/cm3.
Gravity: 0.89 G (upper clouds).
Escape Velocity: 13.2 mps.
To Orbit: 9.3 mps.
Rotational Period: 17.2 hours.
Year: 83.7 years.
Atmospheric Composition: 83% hydrogen, 15% helium, 2% methane.
Temperature: -355F (cloud tops). Moons: 21; see below.

The 11th moon out from Uranus, Miranda is mostly ice and rock, with an odd 'jigsaw' geology of crazy canyons (some up to 12 miles deep) and jumbled features. Xiao Chu has established a scientific base to study its geology. The population of 120 humans appears excessive for such a station, which would normally be staffed mainly (or exclusively) by cybershells.

There are rumors that Miranda Station is a first step in an effort by China to begin He-3 mining of Uranus. While farther away than Saturn, the lower gravity and less-fierce weather might make operations (in the long term) cheaper than Saturn. It would also prevent the United States from interfering with any Chinese He-3 mining operations.

Miranda is 0.00086 AU from Uranus. It is about 290 miles in diameter with a gravity of 0.0079 G and escape velocity 0.12 mps (0.08 mps to orbit). Surface temperature is -335F.

Blue Neptune is the eighth planet from the sun. It is the most distant gas giant. Neptune is similar in size and composition to Uranus, but a little smaller, a bit hotter, and with a more active atmosphere. The winds in Neptune's atmosphere are the fastest in the solar system. They can reach speeds of 1,200 mph, creating an ever-changing cloud system and violent world-sized cyclones similar to those of Jupiter, but more short-lived.

Neptune has eight sizable moons and the usual collection of orbiting rocks and captured asteroids. The majority of Neptune's moons are airless, cratered, rocky ice balls, with one exception: Triton.

Diameter: 30,800 miles.
Mass: 17.1 Earths.
Density: 1.6 g/cm3.
Gravity: 1.12 G (upper clouds).
Escape Velocity: 14.5 mps.
To Orbit: 10.2 mps.
Rotational Period: 16.1 hours.
Year: 164.8 years.
Atmospheric Composition: 74% hydrogen, 25% helium, 1% methane.
Temperature: -380F (cloud tops).
Moons: Eight; see below.

Neptune's largest moon is 1,680 miles in diameter. Its low density (2 g/cm3) suggests it is a captured Kuiper Belt body like Pluto. Triton has a trace atmosphere of nitrogen and methane - effectively a vacuum. Its surface has few craters but is scarred by enormous cracks and fissures from cryo-volcanism and covered with nitrogen ice (with pink methane ice on the south polar cap).

The core is heated by tidal interactions with Neptune, resulting in nitrogen ice and dust geysers that erupt on the surface, spewing plumes miles into space. It is very cold, with a surface temperature of -390F.

Escape velocity is 0.9 mps (0.63 mps to orbit). Gravity is 0.08 G.

The U.S. Astrographical Service sent cybershell explorers to Triton in the 2080s, but humans only experienced Triton through badly light-lagged telepresence. The last cybershells ceased functioning in 2105. However, statements and disclosures made by System Technologies AG following their sale of Exogenesis suggest the latter corporation may have established a secret research station here, with an infomorph or bioroid population of unknown size.

There are millions of cold, icy bodies beyond Neptune, circling the sun in long eccentric orbits. Most occupy a wide band around the plane of the ecliptic, the Kuiper Belt, between 42 and 50 AU from the sun, although scattered objects can be found orbiting as far out as 150 AU. The bodies populating it are leftovers from the birth of the solar system, and consist of a nucleus of rock less than a mile or two across surrounded by a ball of frozen dust and gas. Over 70,000 of these Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) are more than 50 miles across. Several are hundreds of miles across, such as Pluto.

Many KBOs are in stable orbits, but sometimes a KBO's trajectory is affected by the gravitational interaction of Neptune or Uranus, slinging it out of the solar system into the Oort cloud, or on a new orbit that will carry it through the inner solar system. As a KBO approaches the sun, it becomes a short-period comet: its outer layers begin to evaporate, creating an aura of dust and gas, or coma. The solar wind blows this away from the sun, producing the comet's long glowing tail, which always points away from the sun. Over multiple passes, some comets lose all their ice and frozen gases (such as methane), leaving only a rock core.

The Kuiper Belt has a transient population of spacers engaged in 'comet herding' operations to support Mars terraforming. Fusion torch engines are installed on KBOs using their own ice as fuel to accelerate them into the inner system, on trajectories that will end up grazing the Martian atmosphere, evaporating and depositing their ice as water vapor. The Kuiper Belt's population is estimated at around 2,000, mostly parahumans, bioroids, and infomorphs. Many are Gypsy Angels; others belong to various space corporations. A few KBOs are rumored to house permanent Duncanite populations; there have been some reports of unidentified spacecraft, and rumors that cybershell vessels are replicating there, for reasons unknown.

These atom-sized mini black holes formed during the early stages of the Big Bang. Despite their tiny size, they mass a few billion tons, about the same as a mid-sized asteroid. Most primordial black holes evaporated in a storm of energy a few billion years ago, but a few were large enough to survive. Some appear to have had close encounters with other celestial bodies (mostly the many billions of chunks of rock and ice in the Kuiper Belt or Oort Cloud.) Braked by tidal forces as they interpenetrated, they slowed down enough to be gravitationally bound within them. Their slow decay produces enough heat and gamma radiation to be noticed.

As early as the late 20th century, the theoretical existence of primordial black holes had been postulated by Steven Hawking, and Robert Forward had proposed a mechanic for their survival inside minor planets. Nevertheless, nobody expected to find any, especially inside our solar system, as theory predicted less than one per cubic light year. After Muldoon went public with her discoveries and people knew what to look for, a half-dozen were found using sensitive infrared and gamma-ray telescopes. With the exception of Shezbeth, all were scattered about the Oort Cloud, separated by hundreds of AU.

A number of questions regarding the discovery and origin of the primordial black holes remain unanswered.

First, was Dr. Muldoon really the first to discover them, and did she deserve sole credit? There are also indications that other observatories noticed gamma-ray signatures linked to the Shezbeth hole in the 2030s or earlier, but that their significance went unrecognized. Muldoon claims she did not access any of this data, but all witnesses to her sky-sweep were lost with the destruction of the Chatarang Space University during the Pacific War.

Second, the number of local holes is higher than that predicted by cosmological theory. This fact has led to a spate of new theories, and much scratching of heads.

Third, some physicists reject the proposed mechanics of black hole capture, arguing that the mini black hole would have passed right through the KBO or Oort cloud object unless both its course and relative velocity were very similar, something that would be a remarkable coincidence.

These issues have led conspiracy theorists to suggest a mini black hole was not all the Muldoon expedition found on 112434 Shezbeth, and that other things were removed before the object was moved into orbit around Aletheia. Alan B. Shepard's crew were infomorphs provided by the enigmatic Christian hyperevolutionists; such entities can have their minds edited. Hawking Industries and its associates dismiss all such claims as baseless.

Pluto has a highly eccentric orbit, and until 2006 was considered the outermost planet. Despite losing its status as a planet, it is the most famous Kuiper Belt Object. Its surface is composed of frozen nitrogen, methane, and carbon monoxide ice over water ice, with a rocky core.

Pluto is not believed to be inhabited, but no one has checked since the last cybershell probe ran out of power in 2097.

Pluto has its own moon: Charon, which is 790 miles in diameter.

The Oort cloud is an outer cloud of trillions of icy bodies and comets in long eccentric orbits circling the sun at distances of around 100,000 AU. The outer Oort cloud of the solar system merges with that of Alpha Centauri. Long term plans have been made for robotic missions that will eventually cross to Alpha Centauri in this fashion, using Oort cloud objects as a source of reaction mass - stepping stones to the stars. A couple of expeditions have been sent into the Oort clouds, or are in the process of voyaging there, some of them chasing after a half dozen or so primordial black holes believed to exist here.