Primary:
New Sol, spectral class G2V. ICN S4G0205G2V. Mass
1.0 standard. Stellar Diameter .98 standard. Luminosity .99 standard.
Planetary System:
Nine major bodies. One inhabited world (Caledon,
III). Three gas giants in system. One planetoid belt in system.
III Caledon:
Mean
orbital radius, 128.66 million kilometers (.86AU). Period 291.3 days. One
satellite. Diameter, 12,838 kilometers. Density, 1.01 standard. Mass, 1.01
standard. Mean surface gravity, 1.01G. Rotation period, 29 hours, 48 minutes, 41
seconds. Axial inclination, 21°22'3.3". Albedo, 0.35. Surface atmospheric
pressure, 1.1 atm. Composition, standard oxygen-nitrogen mix, breathable without
artificial assistance. Hydrographic percentage, 81%; composition, water and
frozen water-ice. Mean surface temperature, 15°C.
Remarks:
Caledon
is, of course, the capital world of the Principality
of Caledon, and is the center of Principality government as well as the main
residence of the hereditary Sovereign Prince of Caledon. The world is extremely
similar to Earth, almost ideal in every way. Despite its respectable antiquity
as an inhabited world, the population is not large enough to cause crowding or
excessive pollution, thanks both to planned population control and to extensive
colonization efforts mounted in the early Principality period. The world is
thoroughly civilized and explored; unlike many of its neighbors, Caledon holds
few new frontiers to conquer. Most of the interest of the planet comes from
political and business institutions rather than any interesting physical or
cultural aspects of the world.
Caledon is a self-conscious reversion to a semi-feudal society, though updated
for application to a high-tech age. A hereditary nobility provides
leadership and a focus of personal loyalties, but the nobility is not out of
reach for any common citizen. Patents of nobility may be awarded to any
individual for outstanding service to the Crown, which inspires loyalty and
effort unheard of in more blatantly egalitarian societies. The nobility includes
Knights, Lords, Margraves, Viscounts, Counts, and Earls, all answerable to the
Sovereign Prince. The Prince reigns not as an absolute monarch, but as the
leading nobleman of the Principality, and his powers are checked by a
Constitution which provides for three legislative bodies - the House of Lords,
the House of Delegates, and the Grand Senate.
Lately, the Principality has been split by a certain amount of factionalism
developing among the nobility. The precedent by which a comparatively minor
baron, Lord Campbell, asserted a claim to the throne against the most powerful
Earl in the realm has caused other nobles to look to developing more stable
power bases, and has led to incidents of violence between ambitious members of
rival noble houses. The incidence of sedition, of the formation of small private
armies, and of reckless political maneuvering have all been on the rise for
nearly a century, and could lead to trouble in the not-too-distant future.
More details on Caledon are covered in the Cargonaut adventure Scam.