Primary:
Daybright,
spectral class F8V. ICN S4G0804F8V. Mass 1.144 standard. Stellar diameter, 1.178
standard. Luminosity, 2.125 standard.
Planetary System:
Ten
major bodies. One inhabited world (Mer, III). Four gas giants in system. Two
planetoid belts in system.
III Mer:
Mean
orbital radius, 101.73 million kilometers (0.68 AU). Period, 191.5 days. One
satellite. Diameter, 11565 kilometers. Density, 0.96. Mass, 0.643 standard. Mean
surface gravity, 0.84 G. Rotation period: 22 hours, 50 minutes, 8 seconds. Axial
inclination, 4°49'48.4". Albedo, 0.52. Surface atmospheric pressure, 2.2
atm. Composition, oxygen-nitrogen mix with oxygen imbalance. Respirator masks
required to breathe atmosphere. Hydrographic percentage, nearly 100%;
composition, water and frozen water-ice. Mean surface temperature, 30°C.
Remarks:
The
water world of Mer is a large planet which is practically without land. Several
very small islands have been discovered, but these are little more than small
rocks dotting the otherwise unbroken expanse of a world-girdling ocean.
Settlement on Mer has taken an unusual form. Early visitors discovered that vast
migratory schools of small aquatic omnivore/eaters, known as lancesharks.
The behavior of lanceshark schools, made it most economical for fishing
communities to follow schools on their travels. Hence the great raft communities
of Mer.
In general, a raft community is a large, powered, town-sized ship which can hold
several hundred people. Communities follow specific schools on their migrations,
trawling for lancesharks as they go. Raft communities support more than just
fishermen; they are complete towns sailing the high seas.
The raft communities generally cooperate in a loose planetary government; they
form a sort of participatory democracy in which "ship's officers" of
each community have a franchise, and a direct vote by radio in all matters
concerning the planet as a whole. One of the larger islands holds the starport,
and other islands hold repair facilities for raft communities damaged by storms
or by encounters with the human's main competition for lanceshark schools, the
large, stupid, but dangerous gulperwhales.
In addition to these natural hazards, there are occasional problems of human
origin. The fishing culture of Mer is clannish and prone to disputes; vendettas
are common, not only between individuals, but between whole communities.
Incidents of piracy or vandalism against raft communities are reported, usually
prompted by some long-standing grudge between communities. From time to time,
too, outsiders have been know to attack rafts, pillage the community, and then
attempt to lay the blame on a vendetta situation.