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OCEANIA

Geographical Overview

The planet Oceania is literally the blue jewel of the Iridia sector, with over eighty percent of its surface area covered by oceans. Both oceanic and continental island types span across the vast waters through many different climate zones. Underwater monorail lines link together Cephalon, Newport, Zoanthydde and the Nevan Island Nexus.

The island of Cephalon is the largest “continent” on the planet and also home to the planet's largest city of the same name. Cephalon's nearby sister island, Newport, is the seat of the Oceanian government and the planetary spaceport. Both islands enjoy a temperate maritime climate, with distinct seasons, yet mild winters.

Several leagues to the north and about 500 feet below the surface, is the engineering feat known as Zoanthydde. In the city below the sea, it's all about agri-business, “aquaculture” and all things related to keeping the civilization above afloat.

If a tropical escape has always been your fantasy, Oceania will not disappoint. The Nevan Island Nexus is the largest tropical archipelago, followed by the Southbend and Miranda Atolls. Within each of these island groups, plus the few more isolated ports of call, there is no shortage of options. However, If you keep venturing south, all the way to the south pole, you will not find much, aside from dangerous water spouts and currents, as underwater volcanoes are hard at work producing new islands far beneath the surface.

On the other hand, Oceania's “north pole” is characterized by rocky islands and mountain chains above and below. The most well known, yet still very isolated Rymn Isles, have both deciduous and coniferous forests, mines and rich farmland. No underwater monorail lines extend to the north, so visiting the Rymn usually means passing through Zoanthydde to the Ferry depot, unless you can spring for an air charter.

History

Before the Apocalypse War, NASA scientists on Earth identified Oceania  as a habital world through telescopic observations. After the establishment of Sol Jumpgate and the beginning of star travel, Oceania was the first extrasolar planet on which permanent colony was established. Owing to the pent-up demand for an Earth-like living space rather than enclosed habitats, at first the problem was how to keep the entire population of Sol System from trying to move to Oceania at once. Plentiful resources of water, native seafood and energy, along with limited land area, made the construction of Oceania's infrastructure extraordinarily rapid. Some have observed that there never really was a “frontier” era on Oceania – it went straight from wilderness to boom town, with no intermediate steps.

Oceania has proven particularly appealing to aquatic recoms of all species, due to the plentiful shoreline, rivers and wetlands, and ready employment in the fishing and aquaculture industries – which not only feed the population of Oceania, but also export food to other colonies.

Industry and Commerce

Oceania is home to InterCore, the sector's only Megacorporation which also exists as an independent Corponation under Iridian law. While this status effectively gives InterCore an extraterritorial claim, InterCore maintains extremely close ties with the Iridian government, and it is common that many Iridian laws are adopted by InterCore as well. InterCore is not only the largest corporation on Oceania and Iridia as a whole, it is amongst the largest and most powerful corporate entities in Recom space.

Heavy industry has also developed on and around Oceania, with Seibu Kaihatsu Heavy Industries building a shipyard in orbit around the planet. Silent Tiger Shipyards is considered the most advanced shipyard outside of Sol System.

The Iridian Defensive Forces, the Iridia System's navy, are headquartered in the city of Newport.

oceania.txt · Last modified: 2012/01/08 04:15 by abiri