Early Settlements and Their Fate (Pre&Post 2700)

Based on the provided documents, several key locations and star systems were settled or became significant hubs before the transition to the Expanse Period (roughly 2650-2700). Their stories continue to evolve significantly in the centuries that follow, leading up to 3024. This early period of expansion was largely confined within a ~12 light-year limit from the Sun until around 2650.

The star geography is often visualized in maps where the Wolf-Pack Zone is yellow, the Outer-Rim is red, and the Rim is blue.

Here’s a look at these early settled regions and what happens there after this transitional period:

The Inner Solar System and Near Regions (Earth, Moon, Mars, Asteroid Belt, Jupiter/Saturn Moons, Oort Cloud)

Status Before 2650/2700: These regions were the cradle of humanity’s expansion, settled through sub-light and early buffered-ITT travel long before the FTL era fully dawned. Earth, though environmentally challenged, remained the origin point. Mars had undergone its revolution and was developing an independent identity. The Asteroid Belt was home to the Asterion Collective. Jupiter and Saturn’s moons hosted settlements like Europa Station. The Oort Cloud had stations like OCMS, serving as a frontier outpost. Nova Arcis was founded in 2305 as a key hub in the Kuiper Belt, becoming a crucial anchor point for the expansion outwards.

Developments After 2650/2700:

Planetary “ships” (orbiters, tugboats) become the standard for travel within the Sun-Solar-Plane, supporting a massive daily movement of millions by 3000.

Nova Arcis continues its growth, integrating philosophies like Perceptionism (2400-2500) and becoming a massive, independent entity and a major interstellar media and transport hub by 3024, housing 120-130 million inhabitants. It hosts OCN HQ and AI.tec facilities and is a key part of the Quantum-displaced communications network from 2976.

Oort Cloud Main Station remains a vital hub connecting the solar system to interstellar space and is also part of the Quantum-Displaced Communications network.

Earth’s economic balance shifts dramatically, with colonies holding significantly more credits by 3000, though Earth retains influence through trade and culture.

The Inner Planets, Outer Space, and Outskirts regions face a growing crisis from 3014 onwards.

The Asterion Collective paradigm remains the dominant socio-economic model in the outer solar system.

Proxima Centauri (Amara)

Status Before 2650/2700: Proxima Centauri was one of the earliest targets for interstellar colonization, receiving settlers via sub-FTL ships (like the Amara Homework) and connected by the first experimental FTL flights starting in 2389. Early settlement involved applying Martian terraforming expertise to its dusty surface. It was one of the first star systems settled, located roughly North of the Sun in the galactic plane, within the initial ~12ly expansion limit.

The Fungai Environment: Proxima B’s native biosphere is dominated by a complex network of fungi, mycelia, and slime molds, collectively termed “fungai” by the settlers. This ecosystem replaces the diverse flora, fauna, and fungi complex found on Earth. The fungai manifest in myriad forms, creating a landscape of “pseudo-plants.” These can appear as thick trunks, tribes, or logs in various shades of green, or spread across the surface like moss, bog, moola, plat, tetter, or lichen. The planet’s surface is about 50% water, with 70% of that being deeper saltwater and the remainder being sweet or brackish water, supporting specific types of fungai adapted to these conditions. The largest native creature is a ~1m long saltwater “worm” that inhabits the aquatic environments. Despite its alien nature, the fungai-rich soil proved compatible with Earth plant life, notably enabling the cultivation of tea plants.

The Natural Environment of Proxima B (Amara)

Based on observations and early settler accounts, the natural environment of Proxima B, later named Amara, is a world sculpted by the unique light of its parent star, Proxima Centauri, and dominated by a fascinating, alien biosphere of fungai and slime molds. The planet experiences distinct seasonal variations, primarily between a high tide/rainy season and a dust/dry season.

The sky above Amara is a perpetual twilight, painted in deep hues of red, orange-red, and shifting violets, particularly around the star itself. Proxima Centauri’s disc appears larger in the sky than Earth’s sun, a constant, reddish presence. Unlike Earth’s vibrant blue, the atmosphere, despite containing oxygen, scatters the red dwarf’s predominantly red and infrared light, resulting in a sky that appears more white than blue, often heavy with the promise or aftermath of rain and thunder during the wet season, or hazy with airborne dust during the dry season. Distant in the sky, the binary pair of Alpha Centauri A and B hang as bright, constant beacons, sometimes even visible during the planetary day.

The landscape is characterized by rolling, relatively flat hills, their contours softened by the reddish-brown, dusty regolith that covers much of the surface. This dust gets everywhere, a constant reminder of the planet’s raw, untamed nature, particularly prevalent during the dry season. Water is a significant feature, covering roughly half of the planet’s surface. The majority is deep saltwater, with smaller bodies of sweet and brackish water interspersed across the terrain. Rivers are not the constant flows found on Earth, but rather wadi-style systems – flat, shallow brooks most of the time, capable of becoming large, rushing streams during the infrequent but intense rain events of the wet season. During the dry season, these wadis are often dry channels, marked by the passage of water. Hints of past dust storms are etched into the landscape, especially on the drier side.

The dominant life forms are collectively known as “fungai,” a complex ecosystem of fungi, mycelia, and slime molds that fills the ecological niches occupied by plants, animals, and fungi on Earth. This biosphere is incredibly diverse in form and function, adapting to the planet’s wet and dry cycles. Towering “giant fungi” or thick, trunk-like mycelial structures rise from the ground like alien trees, often appearing in shades of green. Closer to the surface, forms resembling moss, lichen, or spongy mats spread across the dusty ground and cling to rocks. There are also more dynamic fungai, including various types of “slime.” These can be “stationary slime,” rooted to a location, “grazing slime” that moves slowly across surfaces, or even more active “hunting slime” that exhibits predatory behavior. These slime forms might be more prevalent or active during the wetter periods. Underwater environments host their own forms, such as “underwater slime” and “underwater mushrooms.” The largest native creature known is a ~1m long saltwater “worm,” a simple but significant inhabitant of the planet’s aquatic regions.

Despite the alien nature of the fungai biosphere, the soil, enriched by these unique organisms, proved surprisingly compatible with Earth plant life, a crucial factor for the settlers’ success in cultivating crops like tea within controlled environments. The natural environment of Proxima B is a world of muted, reddish light, dusty plains, and a silent, pervasive life of fungi and slime, a starkly beautiful and challenging frontier for humanity, cycling between periods of intense rain and pervasive dust.

Developments After 2650/2700:

Proxima Centauri continues its rapid growth, becoming the largest colony by a significant margin by 3000, with over 159 million inhabitants.

The planet Proxima B is officially named “Amara” in 2916, honoring Amara Varna.

By 3024, it is known as the Republic of Proxima Centauri and serves as a key hub for the instantaneous Quantum-Displaced Communications network (invented 2976) and the new Beep-Gong Timing System (3024).

Its influence is strong throughout the inhabited galaxy by 3000.

The “Enduring Dream” of the early settlers is realized here, with Zac Pepelinos successfully farming tea and his journals inspiring the widespread “5 O’Clock Teatime” ritual.

Barnard’s Star

Status Before 2650/2700: The Barnard’s Star colony was founded around 30 years after Proxima Centauri (roughly 2400-2430). Also located roughly North of the Sun and within the initial ~12ly limit, its resource-rich asteroid belt and lack of easily habitable planets led it to quickly become a major montane industrial and tech settlement based primarily on space stations for its first century. The Barnard’s Montane Union formed to represent the interests of the mining-focused settlers.

Developments After 2650/2700:

Barnard’s Star continues to be a significant location, evolving from primarily an industrial hub.

Critically, between 2650 and 2700, Barnard’s Star transitions into the Main Colonization Hub for the expansion into the OuterRim (North) and Rim (East) regions.

By 3000, it is noted as a major migration hub within the Inner Stars region.

The Barnard’s Montane Union likely continues to play a role in its governance and interstellar relations.

Wolf-Pack Stars (Wolf 359, Lalande 21185, Ross 128, Procyon, Luyten’s Star)

Status Before 2650/2700: Settled approximately 50 to 100 years after Proxima Centauri and Barnard’s Star (roughly 2450-2530), these systems are part of the “Inner Stars” and are located West to South-West from the solar plane. Wolf 359 c (Sesame) is noted as having a primitive plant-based biosphere, and Lalande 21185 d required terraforming, indicating settlement efforts were underway within the ~12ly limit. Procyon and Luyten’s Star were settled around 2650, also becoming associated with this region.

Developments After 2650/2700:

These systems continue to be inhabited and developed.

The Wolf-Pack emerges as a distinct political fraction by 2650, controlling expansion paths in their region (South West of the Sun).

OuterRim (North) and Rim (East)

Status Before 2650/2700: These regions were largely unexplored or contained only initial, tentative settlements established via Barnard’s Star in the period between 2650 and 2700.

Developments After 2650/2700:

Following 2700, there is an “explosion” of settlement movement into the OuterRim (North) and Rim (East) regions, primarily facilitated through Barnard’s Star as the main hub.

By 3000, the Rim and Outer-Rim are established as cultural identifications and star-graphic terms, with numerous colonies founded in these areas, reaching distances over ~85 light-years from Earth.

The Lost Colonies (Far South)

Status Before 2650/2700: none.

Developments After 2700: Between 2700 and 2800, a highly risky, isolated venture to the far South was initiated. A group of settlers embarked on this journey, aiming for systems approximately 150 light-years away from the Sun. This ambitious undertaking involved attempting speeds of 10c or more, pushing the limits of known ITT technology for sustained travel. The immense risks resulted in the loss of 2 out of the 7 ships that began the journey, a stark reminder of the dangers of exceeding practical speed limits. By the year 3000, these colonies are considered unknown and lost to the main galactic society. Their fate and any developments after their perilous establishment are not widely known. Communication with them is virtually non-existent; only rare, faint, and heavily distorted ship communications, estimated to be over 80 years old, are occasionally caught randomly. First messages were received way past 2800. These signals are notoriously hard to decipher, because they aren’t “written” in the common Universal Language or Galactic Standard, both languages are variants of what once was English and are spoken by any ship-family. The transmissions though reflect a lost dialect of the foremost Wolf-Pack-Language and some older African languages. Their isolation means they likely lack access to newer technologies like the instantaneous Quantum-Displaced Communications (invented 2976), further deepening their separation from the rest of humanity.

In summary, the period before 2650/2700 saw the initial wave of interstellar colonization concentrated within approximately 12 light-years, starting with Proxima Centauri and Barnard’s Star to the North, followed by the Wolf-Pack systems to the South-West, including Procyon and Luyten’s Star by 2650. Concurrently, a perilous, isolated attempt to settle much further South resulted in the Lost Colonies between 2700 and 2800. The years between 2650 and 2700 marked a transition, with Barnard’s Star becoming the gateway for the first settlements in the OuterRim and Rim, paving the way for the significant expansion into these regions that characterized the period after 2700, leading to the complex, multi-system society of 3024, while the Lost Colonies remain a mystery in the galactic South.