Paradise/strings/facts.txt

The Nanotrasen Corporation is the Orion sector's largest private entity, and the most valuable corporation in human history. Responsible for the extraction and refining of much of the Sector's plasma supply, Nanotrasen holds a near-monopoly on the Orion fuel market.
The Trans-Solar Federation is the largest sovereign nation in the Orion Arm, counting hundreds of inhabited planets under its control, and a population in the hundreds of billions.
Cybersun Industries is a prominent defense contracting firm and military supplier, specializing in the fields of robotics, cybernetics, and personal armor systems. Primarily working with the Trans-Solar Federation and a host of prominent PMC outfits, the company considers any connections drawn between it and the Syndicate to be baseless slander.
Hyperspace is the primary method of FTL transit used by the vast majority of nations in the Orion Arm. Accessed via specialized hyperspace drives, hyperspace allows for interstellar distance to be crossed in a matter of days or weeks rather than the centuries needed for sublight travel.
Though the exact origins of Terror Spiders remains unknown, many speculate the enlarged arachnids to be the result of a Syndicate bioweapon program gone awry.
Due to the high freezing temperature of their interior jelly, ancient Slime People were forced into a nomadic lifestyle to avoid the brutal cold snaps formerly common on Xarxis.
An artificially created species, Vox do not possess biological parents.
The Epsilon Eridani system is one of Nanotrasen's greatest corporate strongholds, being home to dozens of space stations and multiple colonized planets. Hundreds of ships traverse the system each day, though all take care to avoid the Epsilon Eridani II debris field.
Epsilon Eridani II, better known by its nickname of Lavaland, is one of the most mineral-rich worlds ever discovered, and remains home to the largest plasma deposits in the known Orion Arm. Revenue from Lavaland's exploitation provides Nanotrasen with nearly a tenth of its yearly budget.
The five most populous species within the Trans-Solar Federation are Humans, Skrell, Kidan, Slime People, and Unathi, comprising 92% of the Federation's population collectively.
A belt of shipwrecks, asteroids, and space debris surrounds Epsilon Eridani II. This belt's origins are unknown, and new additions seem to arrive from nowhere.
The Union of Sovereign Socialist Planets, better known as the USSP, is an alliance of fourteen nominally independent socialist and left-wing nations in the upper Orion Arm. Comprising a powerful economic and military bloc with great regional influence, they consider themselves the primary rival to the Trans-Solar Federation.
The vast majority of vox in Orion are found aboard moon-sized Arkships traveling the void between stars. What tales that emerge from Vox able to escape them typically dissuades any explorers from seeking out an Ark.
The ocean planet of Xarxis is the homeworld of the gelatinous Slime People. Once subjected to devastating seasonal temperature fluctuations, a joint project by the Trans-Solar Federation and Xarxis governments constructed a series of orbital mirrors to stabilize the world's climate.
Epsilon Eridani Regional Headquarters, better known as Central Command, serves as Nanotrasen's de-facto capital for the Epsilon Eridani system, and is responsible for directly overseeing the major research stations in orbit of Epsilon Eridani II.
Centuries ago, the many warring nations of the Kidan were united as a single Empire under the psychic dominion of an immensely powerful creature known as the Empress. This control was ended at the end of the Kidan War, the largest conflict in the Trans-Solar Federation's history.
Though Nanotrasen is best known for its hold on the plasma fuel market, the company holds stakes in numerous other fields, from consumer electronics to energy weapon systems.
The Free Eridani Republic is a small but economically powerful nation in the heart of the Orion sector. One of the sector's most corporate-friendly nations, Eridani is home to a host of powerful companies, most notably Nanotrasen.
Once the seat of the Plasma Revolution and a bustling center of Federation commerce, Mars has been in the grip of economic depression since the late 2300s, as its plasma reserves ran dry and tourism efforts proved untenable. Though many have written off the Red Planet, recent investments into mining and heavy industry may signal a turnaround in the world's fortunes.
Persistent rumors abound regarding Nanotrasen's implementation of "contingency plans" within their plasma refining infrastructure as a safeguard against nationalization or attack. Nanotrasen considers all such rumors to be baseless slander.
The Heavenly State of Lei-Gong is a small, highly religious democracy in the Western Orion region. Predominantly Buddhist and steadfastly neutral, Lei-Gong is a bastion of peace in the otherwise chaotic Western Approach.
The Tajaran homeworld of Adhomai was controlled for much of its recent history by a totalitarian clique of oligarchs known as the Overseers. Toppled in a popular uprising in 2504, the remnants of the Overseers remain only as a rump government on the fringes of its previously controlled space.
The Federation Analytics and Intelligence Directorate, or FAID, is the primary foreign intelligence service of the Trans-Solar Federation, responsible for collecting information and performing black operations against the Federation's enemies.
The Technocracy is the only predominantly Grey nation in the Orion Arm, and possibly the most stable nation as well. Steadfastly isolationist and focused on continual technological advancement, the Technocracy is well known for its condescension towards the less advanced states of Orion.
With the possible exception of the Vox and Grey, no civilizations are known to have operated outside of the Orion Spur.
Explorers from most of the major powers of Orion have set out into the great void to try and reach Perseus and Sagittarius. None have returned.