ALL ABOUT THE PLANET VAEGA
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ALL
ABOUT
THE
PLANET
VAEGA
Vital Statistics
Located in the Tourmaline
Sector, which is home to several inhabited planets, the largest of which is the planet
Vaega.
The total surface area of Vaega is approximately 213,000,000 square miles
with 187,440,000 square miles of water leaving only 25,560,000 square miles for
land and a planetary diameter of 8584.11 miles. Vaega's atmosphere is very
similar to that of Earth. It extends approximately 1000 miles above the surface
and is comprised of 75% Nitrogen, 23% Oxygen--the remaining 2% consisting of
other gases.
The population currently hovers around 2 billion people.
It takes Vaega approximately 25 hours to rotate around its planetary axis; however, after their acceptance into the Confederation, they enthusiastically adopted the standard 24-hour clock. Due to the proximity of the two continents to the planetary equator, the length of daylight doesn't vary significantly from day to day. Vaega takes 368 Vaegan standard (=25 hours per) days to revolve around its sun. When the adjustment to a Confederation-standard 24 hour clock cycle was made, the Vaegan calendar was adjusted from a ten-month cycle to a 12 month/383 day cycle, with all but the last month of the calendar being a uniform 32 days long. The last month is 31 days. Every third year is a leap year, with the special day set aside at the conclusion of the 4th month as a planetary holiday of celebration and worship as means of thanking the deities for sustained good fortune.
Geology
Vaega has two main continents and a smaller continent with a small chain of
islands in between (there are other island groups scattered outside the main
continents but they are very sparsely populated) hugging the equator. The
largest continent is Sudur (the South). Next largest in size is Nordur (the
North) and the smallest continent is the middle continent of Mithya. The
planetary capital, Edo City sits in the southwest corner of Sudur. The Southern
continent has a slightly bigger population due to the location of the capital
city, Edo City and the major spaceport linking Vaega to the orbiting space
platform above.
Climate
All three continents are located in close proximity to the planetary equator and
thus, the climate typically on either continent does not differ very much. The
climate ranges from a tropic dry to semi-arid climate. Before the advent of
weather satellites, there never was enough precipitation to support a large
population. By controlling the weather (to some degree), the inhabitants of
Vaega were able to migrate to previously uninhabited parts of the continents.
The weather satellites provide enough rain and temperature moderation to allow
for comfortable living conditions without disrupting the natural order of life.
Vast grasslands scattered with short trees dot the majority of the landscape of
both Continents. However, Nordur is most notable feature is the large mountain
range located in the north where the major religious temples are housed. Because
Vaega is a semi-arid environment, water conversation and management are
extremely important. This is accomplished by the use of the aforementioned
weather satellites and a sophisticated water reclamation program allowing the
Vaegan population to live comfortably under what most humans would consider
harsh conditions. Even though environmental management is accomplished by the
implantation of the latest technologies, Vaegans retain a healthy respect for
their environment and its state, thus eschewing most traditional heavy
industries.
Vaega's Moons
Vaega has two satellites (moons), Selene and Hathor (which is the
smaller of the two). When both are full, they bathe the Vaegan night sky in a
milk white light. Selene's revolution around Vaega is approximately every
45 days while Hathor orbits Vaega in 30 days. Both moons have no
atmosphere but do have several self-contained surface cities mostly for
research, development and some recreation.
Ordered Squares
Central to the Vaegan way of life is the strong belief in the
concept ordered squares. One way of expressing their belief holding his or her
index and thumbs together to form a rectangle. Another way is with their housing
arrangement. These are essentially squares within squares within squares.
The largest square is called a Complex. Each Complex has four equal-sized
Commons. Each Common is further subdivided into four equal sized Compounds and
finally, each Compound usually has four clusters (or individual houses and the
number can vary widely).
If you think of a Complex as a huge chessboard, then there can be approximately
64 clusters within.
Each Complex has a barrier of some sort surrounding it, which once served to
keep the deadly Midnight Winds at bay, but with the advent of weather satellites
(and many years past the last Great War), most of the walls are decorative,
rather than actual barriers against natural disasters or man-made ones.
History
Vaegan society is based on a clan structure designated by occupation each run by a hereditary female leader called the Matriarch. There are several major clans (those with the most influence): Healers, Warriors, Spiritual along with other minor clans such as the Builders, Farmers, etc. While the major clans may have more influence, each Clan Matriarch is still only allowed one vote on the Council of Matriarchs.
Clan affiliation is carried through the female line via
the maternal X chromosome. While Vaegan scientists have a reasonable explanation
to which specific genes carry the Clan trait, there is a tacit agreement for the
Healer clan not to specifically isolate the gene. However, it is known that Clan
affiliation is both a combination of inheritance of the X-chromosome from the
female and imprinting of the Clan traits upon birth.
Because of the clan system, there are no orphans. If a child is without
biological parents, it becomes the clan's responsibility to raise the children.
Since communal living is the norm, even children with biological parents
available have the entire community serving as surrogates.
Vaega is a stable society that, for the most part, isn't xenophobic
towards other alien races marrying within their clan system. While curious about
the universe outside their planet, even if they go off world, they tend to come
back to Vaega and marry within the clan system.
Vaegans
Because the climate ranges from that of a desert to a
savanna environment, Vaegan physiology is well adapted for this way of life.
Their skin tone ranges from swarthy to very dark as a protection against the
harsh rays of the sun. Vaegans come in all shapes and sizes though their average
tends to be taller than the Terran average.
Vaegans reproduce sexually, similar to Terrans with a few differences.
Male Vaegans are very similar to Terran Humans. However,
Vaegan females reach puberty much later than Terrans (around standard age 16)
and they do not menstruate monthly. Instead, "they ovulate on demand" when
stimulated sexually and come in direct contact with a Vaegan male also past
puberty. Also, Vaegan females have talons. The talons came about purely as a
defensive mechanism for the Vaegan women to protect their children or as they
are known on Vaega, kit. They activate during times of stress, triggered by an
excess of epinephrine.
Because of their physiology, both male and females practice birth control with
renewable subcutaneous implants.
Most Vaegans conceive babies by uniting the sperm and ova outside the body AKA
in vitro; others prefer the old fashioned way for conception. Careful monitoring
ensures successful pregnancies and Vaegan society has no qualms concerning
aborting defective fetuses. This means that Vaegan babies are, for the most
part, born healthy and free of obvious genetic diseases. While some may consider
this genetic manipulation, the Vaegans consider it business as usual.
Vaegans consider sex as recreational and have sex clubs in the same way we have
coffee shops or bars. The sex trade as it is known is one of the reasons Vaega
is a tourist mecca.
Dress
Because Vaega is a semi-arid world, the inhabitants
dress accordingly, if at all. Both women and men like colorful loose fitting
clothing like a long tunic or they take long pieces of clothing and wrap it
loosely around their body, using the ends for a hood to keep away the harsh rays
of the sun. The clothing colors normally match or are harmonious to that of
their House Clan. Usually when they are home, Vaegans prefer to be nude.
History
The defining moment of Vaegan recent history was the War of Succession. Before
the War, the clan system was more or less the way it is now. Right before the
War, some younger members of the Warrior Clan decided that they didn't like the
system the way it stood. A few of the young Warriors first decided to invoke
mischief upon the clan itself by setting family against family. One of them
decided that they needed an advantage and coerced one of the Healer families
into personal service. This service included torture and other unsavory
business.
Soon other Warrior families coerced other Healer families to work for them in
the same capacity. Finally, House Gallicia organized a rebellion. After that,
each of the splinter Warrior families were defeated one by one. History simply
states that order was restored, but as a society, there are still ill feelings
between the Warrior and Healer clans. And the wall around the complex where the
current Matriarch of the Healer Clan, House Gallicia kept the wall around it as
a symbol from the War.
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Last Update: 12 June 2003