rare for a planet to
be opened on a budget quite as small as that which the Lalonde
Development Corporation has available. However, it has achieved most
of the criteria required for successful colonization, though the
standard of living for its population is generally lower than
equivalent planets.
The Lalonde Development
Corporation is responsible for law enforcement and civil
administration until 2670, or when the population reaches 75,000,000
whichever comes first. Town councils (for towns with a population
over 7,500) with the authority to pass local bylaws will be permitted
from 2625 onwards; county councils after 2635; state councils after
2650. Until then, towns and counties are run by company managers who
are only obliged to “consultâ€
7. Norfolk
Norfolk is a terracompatible
planet 247 light-years from Earth. An English-pastoral-ethnic world,
it was discovered in 2207, and opened for colonization in 2213. It is
unusual in that the star system is a binary.
Star System Physical Data
There are two stars, six
solid planets, no gas giants, and a considerable number of asteroids.
The primary star is Duke, a K2 type (cooler than Sol). The secondary
star is Duchess, an M5 type (red dwarf). Duchess orbits around Duke
at a distance of 372m km, giving it an orbital period of 1,425 days,
or approximately four (Earth) years.
Four of the solid planets
are in orbit around Duke.
The remaining two solid
planets are in orbit around Duchess. They also form a binary of their
own, the separation distance being 570,000km.
The main asteroid belt
orbits between 45m and 72m miles (72m and 114m km) from Duke. There
is a smaller belt orbiting between 28m and 32m miles (45m and 51m km)
from Duchess. There are secondary belts between all the planets
orbiting Duke, and a large number of rocks which exchange stars every
few centuries. In addition, there is a large quantity of comets and
small, pebble-sized particles loose in the system.
Norfolk
Physical
Data
Gravity is 0.87 standard,
axial inclination 1.7°. Orbital rotation around Duke takes 452
days, however its year is 659 days (see climate, below). Planetary
rotation is 23 hours 43 minutes.
Atmosphere is 77 percent
nitrogen, 22 percent oxygen, 1 percent carbon dioxide, resulting in
air which feels heavy. New arrivals find it moderately difficult to
breathe, acclimatization taking several days.
Just over 40 percent of the surface is land. There are no continents
in the normal sense, and very little tectonic activity. Most of the
land mass is made up of large islands, 40,000 to 60,000 square miles
(100,000 to 150,000km2) each; the rest comprises small archipelago
chains in the seas between the islands. There are few mountain
ranges. Because of this geographical structure, the open-water areas
are not large enough to qualify as oceans, so there are only “seas.â€
Plants
Weeping Rose
The most famous plant in the
entire Confederation is a rambling bush which produces yellow-gold
blooms 25cm in diameter, with a thick ruff of petals around an
onion-shaped carpel pod. At midsummer the flower always droops over,
so that when it is fully open it faces towards the ground. As the
seeds ripen, the pod exudes a fluid which is collected and fermented
in wooden casks for a year, then bottled. Only after the new-year
crop is safely in will the previous year’s vintage be released.
The pods exude (weep) all
their fluid within just thirty-six hours, leaving a dry carpel which
then splits open to throw out the seeds. The Weeping Rose is usually
cultivated on a wire, and pruned to a height of 3m. A mature
(third-year) plant will produce up to twenty-five flowers. The fluid
is collected in waxed paper funnels positioned round each plant, and
an experienced grower will always be able to tell exactly when the
flowers are about to weep.
Grass-analogue
This is remarkably
Earth-like, except that its leaves are tubular and produce minute
white flowers throughout the summer. The
be opened on a budget quite as small as that which the Lalonde
Development Corporation has available. However, it has achieved most
of the criteria required for successful colonization, though the
standard of living for its population is generally lower than
equivalent planets.
The Lalonde Development
Corporation is responsible for law enforcement and civil
administration until 2670, or when the population reaches 75,000,000
whichever comes first. Town councils (for towns with a population
over 7,500) with the authority to pass local bylaws will be permitted
from 2625 onwards; county councils after 2635; state councils after
2650. Until then, towns and counties are run by company managers who
are only obliged to “consultâ€
7. Norfolk
Norfolk is a terracompatible
planet 247 light-years from Earth. An English-pastoral-ethnic world,
it was discovered in 2207, and opened for colonization in 2213. It is
unusual in that the star system is a binary.
Star System Physical Data
There are two stars, six
solid planets, no gas giants, and a considerable number of asteroids.
The primary star is Duke, a K2 type (cooler than Sol). The secondary
star is Duchess, an M5 type (red dwarf). Duchess orbits around Duke
at a distance of 372m km, giving it an orbital period of 1,425 days,
or approximately four (Earth) years.
Four of the solid planets
are in orbit around Duke.
The remaining two solid
planets are in orbit around Duchess. They also form a binary of their
own, the separation distance being 570,000km.
The main asteroid belt
orbits between 45m and 72m miles (72m and 114m km) from Duke. There
is a smaller belt orbiting between 28m and 32m miles (45m and 51m km)
from Duchess. There are secondary belts between all the planets
orbiting Duke, and a large number of rocks which exchange stars every
few centuries. In addition, there is a large quantity of comets and
small, pebble-sized particles loose in the system.
Norfolk
Physical
Data
Gravity is 0.87 standard,
axial inclination 1.7°. Orbital rotation around Duke takes 452
days, however its year is 659 days (see climate, below). Planetary
rotation is 23 hours 43 minutes.
Atmosphere is 77 percent
nitrogen, 22 percent oxygen, 1 percent carbon dioxide, resulting in
air which feels heavy. New arrivals find it moderately difficult to
breathe, acclimatization taking several days.
Just over 40 percent of the surface is land. There are no continents
in the normal sense, and very little tectonic activity. Most of the
land mass is made up of large islands, 40,000 to 60,000 square miles
(100,000 to 150,000km2) each; the rest comprises small archipelago
chains in the seas between the islands. There are few mountain
ranges. Because of this geographical structure, the open-water areas
are not large enough to qualify as oceans, so there are only “seas.â€
Plants
Weeping Rose
The most famous plant in the
entire Confederation is a rambling bush which produces yellow-gold
blooms 25cm in diameter, with a thick ruff of petals around an
onion-shaped carpel pod. At midsummer the flower always droops over,
so that when it is fully open it faces towards the ground. As the
seeds ripen, the pod exudes a fluid which is collected and fermented
in wooden casks for a year, then bottled. Only after the new-year
crop is safely in will the previous year’s vintage be released.
The pods exude (weep) all
their fluid within just thirty-six hours, leaving a dry carpel which
then splits open to throw out the seeds. The Weeping Rose is usually
cultivated on a wire, and pruned to a height of 3m. A mature
(third-year) plant will produce up to twenty-five flowers. The fluid
is collected in waxed paper funnels positioned round each plant, and
an experienced grower will always be able to tell exactly when the
flowers are about to weep.
Grass-analogue
This is remarkably
Earth-like, except that its leaves are tubular and produce minute
white flowers throughout the summer. The
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