CoDominium
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The fictional CoDominium universe is a future history (now alternate history) setting for the books in the CoDominium Series by Jerry Pournelle.
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[edit] The CoDominium series
- A Spaceship for the King (1973) (later expanded as King David's Spaceship)
- He Fell into a Dark Hole (1973, short story)
- The Mote in God's Eye (1975, with Larry Niven)
- Falkenberg's Legions (1990) which incorporates:
- West of Honor (1976)
- The Mercenary (1977)
- Prince of Mercenaries (1989)
- Go Tell the Spartans (1991)
- Prince of Sparta (1993)
- The Gripping Hand (1993, with Larry Niven) (also titled The Moat around Murcheson's Eye)
- Several collaborative works in the War World series
- The Prince (2002) (incorporates Falkenberg's Legions, Prince of Mercenaries, Go Tell the Spartans and Prince of Sparta)
- The War World series (1988-1994)
- The story collection High Justice and Exiles to Glory is considered by some to be in the series, though this is disputed.
[edit] A History of the CoDominium Universe
Art by Jet Goodson
[edit] Formation of the CoDominium
The point of departure of Pournelle's history is the establishment of the CoDominium, a political alliance and union between the United States of America and a revitalized USSR. This union, achieved in the name of planetary stability, reigns over the Earth for over a hundred years. In that time, it achieves peace of a sort, as well as interstellar colonization, but at the price of a complete halt in research, development, and political evolution.
[edit] Colonization and Forced Transportation
Corruption and social decay force the CoDominium's BuReloc (Bureau of Relocation) to forcibly transport people from Earth to offworld colonies. However, this involuntary migration has adverse effects on the colonies. This mass expulsion is made possible by the Alderson Drive, a device that allows instantaneous travel across distances of light-years. The starlanes are patrolled by the CoDominium Armed Forces, an elite fighting force created from the French Foreign Legion. The Navy, in particular, sees what the politicians and common people of Earth do not: that Earth is headed for disaster, and their primary mission is to remove as many people from Earth as possible before the holocaust.
[edit] Collapse
In due time, the CoDominium (CD) crumbles under mounting nationalism worldwide. The United States and Soviet Union regain their thirst for world supremacy, while the lesser nations chafe from years of CD oppression. The CD begins to lose support and is forced to reduce the size of the Fleet again and again, despite the best efforts of loyalists like the Blaine family and Grand Admiral Lermontov. As a result, several underdeveloped colony worlds are given their independence, prepared or not. Civilzation collapses on some of these newly freed planets and results in mass deaths.
Disbanded CD Marine units band together into mercenary organizations (for example Falkenberg's Mercenary Legion) and hire themselves out to fight in the former colonies. Later, major worlds begin hiring out their national armies, and mercenary work becomes an industry. Eventually, mercenaries become legal in warfare, thanks to the "Laws of War", and are a major factor in colony warfare.
On Earth, the inescapable result is the Great Patriotic Wars, the long-delayed Third World War that begins and ends with massive nuclear exchanges. Much of Earth is devastated; civilization collapses and much of the surface is rendered temporarily uninhabitable.
[edit] Rise of Empire
Before the end, elements of the CoDominium Fleet evacuate their families from Earth and resettle them on Sparta (for the Americans and Europeans) and St. Ekaterina (for the Russians and Asians). Within a few years, the Fleet swears allegiance to King Lysander I of Sparta. Sparta and the Fleet soon begin the Formation Wars, taking advantage of the political, economic, and technological vacuum caused by the collapse of Earth to reunify the human colonies under Sparta's leadership and form the Empire of Man.
[edit] Decline
For several hundred years, the Empire is the sole government of humanity. Among its many worlds is Sauron, where the culture has grown militaristic and adheres to a literal interpretation of the philosophy of Nietzsche, namely that "man is something to be surpassed." In service of this aim, they engage in extensive genetic modification and eugenic breeding programs to turn themselves into supersoldiers known in the galaxy at large as the Sauron Supermen. Bristling under Imperial hegemony, in the 27th century they lead several worlds into open revolt, starting with the mass bombardment of St. Ekaterina, butchering one billion people.
[edit] Secession Wars
The Secession Wars are long and fierce, spanning decades. The Empire has a big edge in numbers, but it is almost matched by Sauron's military superiority. It is the Saurons' arrogance that leads to their downfall. For them, the war is to be waged free of any constraints or mercy and is run with the cold rationality of professionals. For the subjects of the Empire, it becomes a war of extermination, a life-and-death struggle for survival, and their passion is not accounted for in Sauron calculations. The war ends with Sauron being bombed down to bedrock.
The Empire's victory is pyrrhic though, as the Imperial forces have mostly been sacrificed to crush the Saurons. With the Empire weakened, new factions spring up, including claimants to the Imperial throne. It is reduced to a core of loyal planets, and marginal worlds are isolated. Many, their industries lost to orbital bombardment, descend into barbarism.
[edit] Second Empire
In the thirtieth century, Lysander IV of Sparta proclaims the formation of the Second Empire of Man, and pledges to unite humanity by force if necessary, in order to prevent future wars of the magnitude of the one that ended the First Empire. Many worlds quickly accept; others, known as outies, continue to resist the Empire's hegemony. Against this backdrop of renewal and conflict, humanity makes its first contact with another intelligent, spacefaring species -- the Moties, who represent a far more grave threat than even the Sauron Supermen. The contact between the two species would have a dramatic impact on both civilizations.
[edit] Astrography of the CoDominium
For the most part, the stars with inhabitable planets in the CoDominium are obscure and unnamed. For instance, the world of New Washington and its sister planet Franklin orbit a red dwarf at some distance from the solar system. Such stars are very common in the galaxy but even the closest ones are too dim to observe without equipment, Proxima Centauri being the obvious example. Other habitable systems in the CoDominium have stars in the stellar classes F, G and K, which are common but dim compared to the named stars in the night sky. One of the few stars explicitly named in the CoDominium stories is 82 Eridani, containing the Meiji colony. Viewed from Earth, 82 Eridani is a star of the fourth magnitude at 20 light-years distance. Beyond 50 light-years such stars are below sixth magnitude and therefore invisible to the naked eye, so they are unnamed and largely unrecorded, except in astronomical sky surveys. These are the stars likely to host colonies of the CoDominium. There is no mention in the canon of closer candidate systems such as Tau Ceti and Epsilon Indi.
The Imperial planet of Sparta occupies a system containing an orange dwarf K0 primary with a red dwarf companion (described in The Gripping Hand) which makes passes close enough to impact Sparta's climate. References to Acrux and Crucis Court in the novels probably do not indicate planets around Alpha Crucis, since this system is composed of bright, short-lived stars. However it is certain that Sparta lies in the direction of the Coalsack Nebula from Earth, with another part of the Empire, known as the Trans-coalsack Sector on the other side of that nebula, where most of the action of the two Motie novels takes place. The Coalsack is 600 light-years away and several of the named planets are mentioned as being variously 20, 60 etc. parsecs away. At these distances stars with inhabitable systems would be dim and uncatalogued.
In the case of the New Washington/Franklin planetary system, the configuration of the planets addresses a problem with having a red-dwarf as a central sun. Any planet close enough to the sun to maintain an Earth-like climate would be tidally locked with its orbit so it would always keep the same face toward its sun. In order to restore a night-day cycle, Pournelle created a double planet. New Washington and Franklin are about the same size and orbit a common center with a period of 40 hours. They are tidally locked in this orbit, so they always present the same face to one another. Together they orbit their sun once every 52 days.
[edit] Ships of the CoDominium
The spaceships of the CD use "photon drive", which apparently produces only light to propel the craft in normal space. This allows an estimate of the power capabilities of such a ship. Radiation pressure can produce about 3.35 nanonewtons of force per watt of luminosity, so for a 1-gravity drive there would have to be about 3 gigawatts of luminosity per kilogram of ship mass. A typical ship might be 10,000 tonnes or 10 million kilograms, bringing the power level to 30 petawatts. For comparison, US electrical generating capacity is only in the terawatt range. 10 petawatts is about the equivalent of a megaton nuclear device exploding every second. Interstellar travel is accomplished by use of the Alderson drive which instantaneously warps ships along tramline paths between stars.
[edit] Structure of the CoDominium
The CoDominium (CD) is a supranational alliance of the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. This alliance eventually becomes a de facto planetary government, and later, an interstellar empire. Despite this, no other nations on Earth are given representation or membership. Other major powers become mere client states. It is governed by a "Grand Senate", which is composed of Senators chosen from the two superpowers. A CoDominium Council exist and appears to fuction as a judicial branch. It should be noted that the CD did not unify the United States and the USSR, who appear to retain their separate identities and mutual distrust. The CD was only created for the shared benefit of the two member states. It does not govern either nation, and each state has been allowed to retain their government structures, nationalities, militaries, and to run their own internal affairs.
The CD seal is a mix of symbols from the United States and the Soviet union. The seal combines an eagle, sickle and hammer, with red and white stars.
[edit] Agencies and Bureaus
- Bureau of Corrections (BuCorrect): Agency for criminal corrections of the justice system.
- Bureau of Relocation (BuReloc): Responsible for off-planet transportation of colonists and deportees, voluntary or otherwise.
- Bureau of Technology: Restricts what studies people can learn.
- CD Intelligence Services (BuInt): Suppresses research and development.
- Colonial Bureau: Helps run colony worlds by providing planetary governors, law enforcement, and other specialists.
- CoDominium Space Navy and Marines: Armed forces of the CD, headed by a Grand Admiral. Edicts of the Grand Senate are enforced by the CD's armed forces. Other functions is keeping the peace on Earth and other worlds.
- Intercontinental Bureau of Investigations (IBI): Presumably the CD equivalent of the FBI.
[edit] The United States
The United States of the CoDominium Era is a welfare state divided into two classes:
- Citizens are welfare dependents who are required to live in walled sections of cities called "Welfare Islands". People are given whatever they need, including the drugs like Borloi to keep them pacified. There are no limits to how long they can stay on welfare, except that they must live in a Welfare Island. Although people are free to gain an education and work or become a colonist, many citizens did not, preferring to live their whole lives supported by the government. Generally citizens are uneducated and illiterate. Some BuReLoc involuntary colonists are Citizens. By the late CD era, the Welfare Islands were three generations old.
- Taxpayers are the working, educated, and privileged upper class. They carry identification cards to separate them from Citizens.
The government structure of the US remains the same, (in addition to a Population Control Bureau), but is much more corrupt. The Unity party is a combination of the Democratic and Republican parties, and supports the CD. Other parties have also arisen: The Pro-CD and honest Freedom party; the radical, violent Liberation Party; and the Nationalistic, Anti-CD and Anti-Communist Patriot party. By the late CoDominium Era, the Unity party was still in power, holding the presidency, but it was close to losing it.
[edit] Technology of the CoDominium Era
CoDominium policy is to restrict almost all research and development. As a result, technology has stagnated and there have been few developments in military weapons. Soldiers still use chemically-propelled projectile rifles. Countermeasures can not be developed for rail guns, lasers, or anti-aircraft missiles, so aircraft have ceased being used in most combat situations. On many colony planets, technology is a rarity; they lack the infrastructure and supporting equipment to sustain high technology. On such worlds, warfare is largely fought by infantry, artillery is important, and a few tanks can decide the outcome of wars. Only the elite worlds (mainly those supported by Terran nation-states) can escape these restrictions, and have even developed their own fleets.
Despite these limitations, the CD still has some superior technologies. The Alderson and Fusion drives propel starships to other star systems. Fusion power plants supply energy, and medical sciences have developed medical regeneration technology. Soldiers are equipped with precise, cheap, and handheld anti-aircraft weaponry, light-amplification goggles, and the effective Nemourlon body armor. Anti-satellite rockets that can be used by a military force lacking technology have also been developed as well.
[edit] Structure of the Second Empire of Man
The Second Empire of Man is an interstellar empire, containing 200 planets. Centralized on Sparta, its government is a parliamentary, constitutional monarchy, with a hereditary Emperor as head of state. A hereditary aristocracy also exists, and is referred by Western nobility titles. There are mentions of the Imperial Parliament, Senate, and Assembly, which most likely serve as the legislative branch. The nobility have seats in the Parliament. There is also an Imperial Council.
Imperial policy is to re-incorporate all Human planets into the Second Empire, willingly or not. The Empire will usually opt for non-violent means to integrate these worlds, but will use its military might when no other choice is available. The term "Outie" refers to a Human planet not yet incorporated into the Empire.
The Second Empire's seal is a that of the CoDominium with a spaceship and crown incorporated. However, there is no mention of stars on this seal.
[edit] Organization
The Empire seems to be organized by sectors, ruled by a Viceroy who serves as a representative of the Crown. Each sector has its own Council, headed by a Lord President, and its own Parliament. The Viceroy, and in all probability the Imperial government, has several ministries, such as External Affairs, War, and Science. A Foreign office is also mentioned. Some planets are governed by the nobility, although at least one member world is a republic.
Inhabited planets within the Empire have varying degree of power. After Sparta, Member Kingdoms are semi-autonomous. Classified worlds are member planets over which the Empire has considerable influence. However, such worlds still have considerable self-governing powers. Class One worlds seem to be governed by a Governor-general, with a council and assembly elected by the planetary population. Such worlds seem to be allowed to send representatives to the Parliament. The level of technology achieved by each planet seems to decide its category. The main requirement to become either a Classified World or a Class One world is the achievement of both spaceflight and unified planetary government. Colonies are worlds that have not achieved spaceflight and are also technologically backward. Such worlds have no influence over their affairs; Viceroys, nobility, and Imperial colonists are appointed to govern over the native populace. There are also Primitive worlds within the Empire; it is unknown what this classification entails.
The military arm of the Second Empire is the Imperial Space Navy. It enforces the will of the Crown and its representatives; it also protects worlds from pirates, conducts punitive actions, and suppresses revolts. The Navy consists of its fleets of starships and their crews, Marines, an Admiralty, Intelligence, and a Reserve component. Women are allowed to serve in the Navy, despite the Empire's protective attitude toward women. Like the CD Fleet, the Imperial forces are headed by a Grand Admiral.
[edit] Notable Groups
Several civilian organizations within the Empire have some influence on government affairs. The Imperial Traders Association is a group of interstellar merchants that has influence over the government. The Church and the Humanity League are also mentioned. The Humanity League is mentioned during the CD era, and the Second Empire era "League" might be a continuation of that group. The Church, located in New Rome, is the official religion of the Empire. It uses a hierarchy and follows traditions similar to the Roman Catholic Church. However, the Empire appears to tolerate other religions, since Jewish and Islamic worlds are also members.
[edit] Planets of the CoDominium and the Empire of Man
[edit] During the CoDominium Era
Instantaneous interstellar travel of the Alderson drive easily gave humanity the ability to explore, colonize, and exploit various star systems. As a result, many of the space settlements are on planets that are similar to Earth. At the very least, a colony world was barely inhabitable for human life without technological support. Many colonies were founded by ethnic minorities, religious groups, or political groups. Some are started by businesses, for commercial reasons. Most lack an industrial base, and have little advanced technology as a result. The elite, more technologically advanced colonies are ones settled and supported by the Earth countries. Such elite worlds have their own fleets and enjoy some independence from the CD.
Several of these planets were used as dumping grounds for involuntary colonists, ranging from violent criminals to exiled dissidents and intellectuals. Some worlds willingly accepted them to use as slave labor, others had to take the transportees in, wither they wanted to or not.
[edit] After the CoDominium
During the Empire of Man, new worlds were colonized, and some were even terraformed. However, after the collapse of the First Empire, and birth of the Second Empire, it appears no new planets have been settled. Many worlds were devastated during the Secession Wars, and their civilizations reverted back to primitive levels, while others eventually recovered from the wars.
[edit] Inhabited Planets
- Arrarat — During the CD era, an Agricultural world settled by devout Christians, later used as a dumping ground for CD convicts and other involuntary transportees. Lots of desert, and jungles at the equator.
- Ceres — During the CD era, location of a Navy yard, constructed mostly below the surface.
- Churchill — English-ethnic world, one of the elite colony worlds.
- Covenant — Scottish-ethnic world. During the waning days of the CD, it was known for its mercenaries specializing in infantry.
- Dayan or Dyan or Dion — Israeli-ethnic world, one of the elite colony worlds.
- Danube — Planet that was operating its own independent fleet during the CD era.
- Earth — Homeworld of humanity, main world of the CoDominium. Also provided mercenaries in the late CD era, but they were not the best. After Great Patriotic Wars, Earth receives heavy damage - although the Alps and Jamaica survive - and ceases being the center of Human civilzation. However, Earth is still inhabited by the Second Empire, if badly damaged, and used as an honorary capital. The Naval Academy located on Earth, at New Annapolis.
- Luna — Earth's Moon. During the CD era, location of Luna Base where the Grand Senate meets, as well as the office of the Grand Admiral. Also provides housing for Navy personel and their famillies.
- Fulson's World — A cold, infamous mining planet. During the CD era, it is known is that involuntary transportees are sent to this world unless they can bribe their way to a better one.
- Franklin — Planet settled by Americans from the South, in the same star system as New Washington.
- Friedland — German-ethnic world, one of the elite colony worlds. During the waning days of the CD, it was known for its mercenaries specializing in armored warfare
- Frystaat — Afrikaner-ethnic world with very high gravity and intense heat. CoDo convict-transportees later become a slave caste. Extreme conditions and aggressive native life result in a very low survival rate, producing extreme selective pressure that eventually result in an immensely strong, physically tough population. The elite Frystaat commandos known as Jarnsfeld's Jaegers are acknowledged as the best fighters in the Empire (other than Saurons).
- Hadley — Earth-like world with a large city. Smaller than Earth, but has a heavier gravity due to being more dense. Orbits a hotter Blue-White star, probably a Blue Giant. Despite being further away, Hadley still gets as much heat as much as Earth from its sun. The planet was controlled by the CD for its thorium mines, and was used as a dumping ground for transportees. Also appears to have many farms.
- Haven — Marginally inhabitable Moon of the Jovian planet Cat's Eye in the Beyers system, cold and dry with a thin but breatheable atmosphere. It is partially tide-locked, giving it a very long (87 hour) day-night cycle. During the CoDominium, it was settled by the Universal Church of New Harmony, and later by exiled miners and other involuntary groups such as nationalists and ethnic minorities of the U.S.A. and U.S.S.R. The main setting of the War World series.
- High Shanghai — Chinese-ethnic and Thai-ethnic world.
- Kennicott — wealthy Mining Planet.
- Levant — Arab-ethnic world with a ship-building industry.
- Makassar — Planet that is featured in King David's Spaceship, settled mostly by Malaysians, by the Second Empire it had a primitive culture.
- Maxroy's Purchase - A Mormon world, mentioned in The Gripping Hand. Home of the deadly and much hunted "Snow Ghost" beast.
- Meiji — Japanese-ethnic world, one of the elite colony worlds. During the late CD era, known for covert operations and espionage mercenaries.
- Mote Prime — Located at The Mote in Murcheson's Eye, homeworld of the Motie race, mutant non-symmetric semi-vertebrates who have been locked into cycles of growth and collapse for tens of thousands of years, due to being trapped in one star system and their enormous reproductive drives. Appears in The Mote in God's Eye, written with Larry Niven.
- New Chicago — World in revolt from the Second Empire of Man at the beginning of The Mote in God's Eye. One moon, named Evanston.
- New Ireland — Another partly terraformed world of the New Caledonia system.
- New Scotland — Capital of the Trans-Coal Sack sector in New Caledonia. It is a terraformed world settled by New Scots.
- New Washington — Planet settled by Pacific Northwest Americans, in the same star system as Franklin.
- Nuliajuk —Inuit/Eskimo-ethnic world, cold with ice caps covering much of the surface.
- Prince Samual's World — Important planet in King David's Spaceship. During the Secession Wars, it was bombed back to a dark age, and has had to re-invent much of its technology. When the Second Empire reestablished contact, this world was in the early Industrial age.
- Sauron — Homeworld of the Sauron Supermen. Known for high metal content, and its genetically modified denizens' belief that war was the ultimate expression of humankind. Started the Secession Wars that ended the First Empire of Man. Was depopulated by Imperial bombardment during the conflict. However, it appears that Sauron is still inhabited by people during the Second Empire era.
- Sparta — Capital world of the First and Second Empires of Man, originally called Botany Bay. Generally North American in population. Slightly higher than Earth gravity. Founded by political idealists, it turned from a semi-democratic meritocracy to a dynastic, hereditary aristocracy.
- St. Ekaterina — Russian-ethnic world. The first planet attacked by the Sauron Supermen in the Secession Wars.
- Tanith — A jungle planet known for the drug borloi. During the CD era, it was another infamous dumping ground for transportees.
- Tabletop — American-ethnic colony. Appears to lack trees. According to Niven, a world of plains.
- Thurstone — Earth-like dry world, with three nations, one of which is Santiago (non-industral Spanish Catholic-ethnic w/ involuntary colonists).
- Xanadu — Low gravity Chinese-ethnic world, one of the elite colony worlds. Known for its technicians and mercenaries.
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[edit] Outies
These are apparently systems which retained enough technology after the Secession Wars to present a threat to the Second Empire, by resisting takeover and mounting raids against Empire systems. The presence or threat of Outies is mentioned in all the Second Empire stories as a reason for the Imperial Navy having to deal with events in the most expeditious way possible, rather than allowing time to achieve ideal solutions.
Thus in The Mote in God's Eye, Rod Blaine successfully takes his company of Marines down to the surface of New Chicago to link up with a turncoat who lets them into the city. Far from being hailed as a hero, Blaine is disciplined for risking the only Marine force in the system. Had his command been destroyed, the Admiral in command maintains he would have had to "bomb New Chicago back to the Stone Age" to suppress the rebellion, to avoid detaining the Fleet in the system any longer than necessary.
For all this, there are no actual instances in the stories of actual encounters with "Outies". The closest is clandestine contact between merchants from the "Maxroy's Purchase" system and an outlying system which was settled by disgruntled colonists from Maxroy's Purchase. The nightmare scenario after the discovery of the Moties is that they will ally with Outies once they are no longer trapped in their own solar system.
