Complex Cartography (Lore Dump)

[Theodidactus (OP)]

a somewhat-in-character attempt to solve one of aurora's knottiest problems. how to make an accurate starmap. Also works as one of my comprehensive loredumps (which ordinarily I never do)

As of Nov 4th, 2152, Terran and Achirdi space explorers have mapped out most stars within 31 Light Years of Sol. These same explorers know this area of space is home to perhaps 7 extant native species, and was colonized in the distant past (at least 450,000 years ago) by a race of sentient machines from the Hyades star cluster.

Currently, "developed space" is best defined as a triangle between three star systems under the control of three different alien races: Sol (the native system of the race known as Humanity), Eta Cassiopeiae (home to a race of philosophically inclined, aescetic mantis-beings known as the commune of achird), and 36 Ophiuchi (the center of a belligerent star-empire of eel-like aquatics joined into a loose hive mind, the race identifies itself as the "Enlightened Lords of Ophiuchi). Since the War of Terran Supremacy (2135-2142) Humanity has been the paramount military power in known space, with more than a dozen colonized, fully independent worlds protected by a highly advanced starfleet known as the "Concordance of Worlds". Planets populated by both humans and Achirdi are responsible for maintaining and fueling this mighty fleet, but are otherwise left to their own devices. The spacelanes between Sol and Eta Cassiopeiae buzz with inter-species traffic, and a mighty space fortress is being constructed in jointly controlled space. The systems between Ophiuchi and Sol are an empty no-mans land scarred by 30 years of nearly constant warfare. The systems between Eta Cassiopeiae and Ophiuchi remain unexplored, and "Completing the triangle" by connecting these two systems remains a great challenge for space explorers. Space beyond this triangle is wild and dangerous, frequented by predatory, million-year-old Large Spaceborn Lifeforms known as "elders" and the remnants of the superintelligent Hyadean civlization that once controlled a whole arm of the galaxy. 

Territorial disputes between, and even within, the three civilizations have been the source of much strife. As the joint Achirdi/human starbase nears completion, a new map will be created and new border policies will be enforced. These rules may lead to outright war with the Enlightened Lords, who have claimed all systems within 50 light years of their empire. I shall attempt to create a map that accurately reflects existing territorial claims, while preserving as much information about jumplane connections between systems AND the actual distance between each system in 3D space. 

[Theodidactus (OP)]

The 11 Light year rule
The articles of Concordance (signed February 3rd 2132) give the concordance of worlds an absolute monopoly on space-based weapons systems (exceeding 250 tons) within 11 light years of an idealized fixed point within the center of the star Sol. The map will use the 11-light-year-rule to measure out space between the 3 races. Each race will have dominion over systems which fall within 11 light-years of their home star. Military hardware of another race will not be permitted without direct authorization (the commune has like, a dozen warships of the very lightest and weakest kind, and relies on the Concordance for defense). Systems will be ranked in proximity to their home star and placed as such on the starmap.

Terran systems:
- Sol (location of the two most populous worlds, Earth and Mars, both of which are a patchwork of rival nations, earth remain's humanities most developed and advanced center of research and industry, while Mars is an agrarian paradise)
- Proxima Centauri (location of Euphrates, a small moon which supplies more than half of known space's fracked sorium gas, also the location of Humanities largest naval base)
- Alpha Centauri (location of Medterrania, a sparsely populated outpost-world formerly peopled entirely with outlaws and pirates)
- Barnard's Star (home only to cloud-mining fleets and a single naval spacebase)
- Wolf 359 (location of Tolkien, a deep space mining colony)
- Lalande 21185 (currently unexploited)
- Luyten 726-8 (largely empty space)
- Sirius (uninhabited except for science station hermes)
- Ross 154 (home to a military, penal, and science outpost known as Vadim)
- Epsilon Eridani (location of monticello, a mountainous jungle world with a population of over 1 billion)
- Lacaille 9352 (an empty system)
- Ross 128 (currently unexploited)
- Epsilon Indi (home only to automated mining colonies)
- Tau Ceti (location of Tiamat, a watery world populated by a centuries-old terran nobility)  

Achirdi systems
- Eta Cassiopeiae (native system of the Achirdi, home to 2 populated worlds, Achird and Zeuxo)
- Mu Cassiopeiae (a system the commune appears to use exclusively for mining)
- EV Lacertae (currently unexploited)
- Kruger 60 (location of the Kruger Commune, a known refuge of the more Ascetic Achirdi)
- Groombridge 34 (future location of Knossos starbase and the headquarters of the concordance of worlds)
- Stein 2051 (used primarily as an Archeological dig)
- Gilese 48 (currently unexploited)

Ophiuchian systems (it's unknown what the "enlightened lords" use these systems for)
- 36 Ophiuchi (known to be their native system)
- Gliese 667
- wolf 1061 (formerly hotly disputed territory between the ophiuchians and humanity)
- Gliese 674
- 70 Ophiuchi
- Luyten 205-128
- Gliese 670
- Luyten Palomar 914-54 (known to be the home of an earthlike planet)
- Ross 248: lies equidistant between all three worlds, it will be ceded to the Ophiuchians as a concession for obeying this treaty

unaffiliated systems
two systems with contentious political histories remain heavily populated but staunchly unaffiliated. Both lie just outside of the 11-light-year reach of the concordance of worlds in terran space

- Teegarden's star (home to about 266 million "freesiders" who ceded from terran space during the colonial wars almost a century ago, and never returned. Freeside is also the site of the largest Hyadean ruin ever found, a nearly intact colony buried miles underground)

- Kapteyn's star (home to about 13 million catholic exiles who left terran space during the breakdown of the failed "Interstellar republic" (2082-2022). Kapteyn's star is one of the most mineral rich systems yet discovered but remains critically underdeveloped. Kapteyn's star was recently the site of a catastrophic ground war that has only recently resolved.


In addition, the following basic principles of Astronavigation will be respected
- Eta Cassiopeiae, Sigma Draconis, and Vega lie in the direction of the galaxy's rotation, at the "top" of the map
- 36 Ophiuchi and Fomalhaut lie in the direction of the galaxy's core, at the "right" of the map
- 70 Ophiuchi and 61 cygni lie somewhere halfway between the near-right-angle between eta cassiopeiae, sol, and 36 ophiuchi
- Sirius and 82 Eridani lie away from the direction of the galaxy's rotation, at the "bottom" of the map
- Capella and Chi Orionis lie in the direction of the galaxy's edge, at the "left" of the map

insomuch as it is possible, distances between stars will be preserved, but not if it contradicts any of the above...so in reality Epsilon Eridani should lie "on the other side of sol" from Eta Cassiopeiae, but on this map, this would create an unsightly zigzag...since the only route to Eta Cassiopeiae lies from sol, through Epsilon Eridani, then onto van mannen's star and groombridge.