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Eridanus League

Terragens' first interstellar polity

FlagEridanusLeague-Jiang
Image from The Astronomer
The flag of the Eridanus League during the First Federation era, the so-called Jiang 'river' flag.

Overview

The Eridanus League was the first of the Terragens' many attempts at a unified interstellar civilization. Although the League ultimately did not last, it is remarkable in having brought together several billion people from dozens of diverse colonies over a span of over 40 light-years.

The League, modeled after the successful Outpost Treaty which brought peace to the various polities of the Ran system, was started unilaterally by the broadcast of the River of Stars Charter from the Ran system in 770 AT, which was well received within the Ran system itself. Reception from beyond the Ran system was more muted; About half of the systems that received the broadcast eventually joined, although after varying levels of debate and often only in a nominal fashion. Despite this, there was a surprising level of pride among colonies that belonged to the League, especially in small communities which were used to being overshadowed by more powerful nations in the same planetary system.

The Eridanus League received several invitations from the Federation of Sophonts to become part of that organisation, but turned them down. However the League remained aligned with the Federation for the entire Federation Era, working together on various crises such as combatting the Psychophager invasion of the Keid system in 1480, and received several FedReps as ambassadors, if not as advisers.

As the influence of the Federation waned and was replaced by a multitude of powerful factions in the Age of Expansion, the Eridanus League found itself governing a number of polities allied with different interstellar empires. After an attempt to align with Solsys in 2165 elicited strong responses from its members, the League was extensively reformed under what was informally known as the Agree To Disagree Pact, which discarded all but a few essential departments of the old League government, as well as giving each polity independence. The pact was eventually discarded in 2690 AT.

Early Eridanus League flag
Image from The Astronomer
The first version of the Eridanus League Flag, devised in 770: a modification of the Hope Flag
Eridanus League Flag
Image from The Astronomer
A later version of the Eridanus League Flag, including a number of triangles representing the member colonies

Although based mainly on voluntary agreements to standardize laws and values, the League was successful in its goals of promoting peaceful coexistence between religious and ethnic enclaves, organizing long-term trade relationships, and the development of new colonies. The ambassador-judges exchanged between colonies set a high standard for fair justice, and because of this the four-point star of a League court was the symbol of ultimate authority to most local rulers and corporate officers even when there was no System Control Ship or even a Remora-class escort vessel available to back up a judge's decision.

The League's greatest cultural impact, however, may have been the exchange of ideas that led to the rise of several major religions including Etodism, which in the crisis years had gained 800 million followers across the League. The League lasted for many centuries primarily because of the common interests of the member polities, not because of its ability to use force to keep colonies in line; as soon as the ideological crisis peaked in several colonies, the League began to split apart. To their credit, the military forces organized by the Ran council to defend its members never used their armaments to force defecting polities to return to the fold, and even in the crisis years there were surprisingly few attempts by the SCS commanders to alter the local balance of power during inter-colony disputes.

The extreme distances involved were the obstacle that prevented the success of any of the early interstellar empires; in one oft-repeated example, the Umbandist Star Spirit 3 space station of the Gatlida system renounced membership in the League, then two years later broadcast its intention to re-join even before the original message had reached the other League star systems. As the League faded into the history files, colonial self-rule would continue to be the trend for centuries to come. However, the spirit of the League was never forgotten, and it also had blood links to the great civilizations that followed it. Citizens from many League member polities were instrumental in organizing the second wave of colonists to the new frontier systems that would in time become the core of both the Fomalhaut Acquisition Society and the Yoson Confederacy.

Systems with members

Star Distance from Ran (light years) Name Period Notes
Epsilon Eridani 0 Ran 770 - 2692 Birthplace and the capital of the Eridanus League
40 Eridani 6.321 Keid 795 - 2698 First transmission member; first interstellar member
Epsilon Indi 14.104 Gatlida 801 - 2187 First transmission member
Lalande 21185 15.799 Rajand 805 - 863 First transmission member
p Eridani 21.839 Hamashta 826 - 1770 First transmission member
Sol 10.502 Solsys 909 - 2339 A small number of polities, including the Republic of Haumea
82 G. Eridani 12.424 Terranova 1082 - 2705 .
Gliese 832 18.163 Eunchong 1128 - 2130 .
GJ 3323 8.754 Yiramm 1141 - 1338 Colonized by Keid; taken over by Psychophagers
Ross 128 18.935 Tiwa 1313 - 1956 .
Teegarden's Star 5.910 Teegarden's Star 1404 - 2282 Settled by Ran
GJ 1061 6.919 Baei 1438 - 2172 Colonized by Ran
LTT 1445 12.205 Chaihua 1447 - 2461 Colonized by Terranova
Gliese 183 19.518 Qimira 1513 - 1906 Colonized by Ran
LP 944-20 12.410 Mardit 1546 - 2188 Colonized by Terranova
Delta Eridani 19.158 Rana 1699 - 1823 Colonized by Keid
HD 17925 23.541 Benes 1749 - 1843 .

Timeline

(All dates AT)
770 - Formation of the Eridanus League. The River of Stars Charter broadcasted from the Ran system to other polities within the Ran system, as well as nearby interstellar destinations.
773 - The first recipients of the message, the Sanlung and the Hephaestus, both bound for Keid, received the invitation. Both initially did not reply.
781 - The first reply returned from Nova; both the Tau Ceti Provisional Territories and the Free Ceti Alliance declined the invitation.
786 - Sirius declined the invitation.
795 - Rihal declined the invitation.
795 - The two Keid colony ships accepted the invitation and became the first interstellar member of the Eridanus League.
801 - Most member colonies of the Gatlidan Provisional Confederacy joined the Eridanus League.
802 - The beamriders of Akela declined the invitation.
805 - The New L4 civilization of Rajand joined the Eridanus League.
807 - Nesaris declined the invitation.
826 - Hamashta joined the Eridanus League.
847-849 - The New L4 civilization collapsed; contact with the rest of the League lost.
909 - Republic of Haumea, along with a few other small polities in Solsys, joined the Eridanus League.
961 - The Eridanus League becomes aligned with, but not part of, the Federation of Sophonts.
1082 - The empaths of Terranova joined the Eridanus League.
1128 - Eunchong joined the Eridanus League.
1141 - Yiramm colonised by Keid.
1271 - Amhan transcends to S1 and becomes the first indigenous transapient of the Eridanus League.
1292 - The Eridanus League adopted the Transapient Relations Pact.
1313 - Tiwa joined the Eridanus League.
1338 - Yiramm lost to the Psychophagers. Keid was alerted of this development approximately 4 years later.
1340s-1360s - Dispute with the Federation over Genome Ownership Act
1379-1925 - Second wave of colonists sent out by Eridanus League to colonise many systems, some of which become the Yoson Confederacy and the Fomalhaut Acquisition Society.
1400s - Bojiangnese became widely used across the Eridanus League.
1404 - Teegarden's Star settled by the Eridanus League.
1480 - Psychophager invasion of Keid repelled.
1531 - An Eridan outpost established in the Rajand system.
1557 - The uppermost levels of the Eridanus League government is now fully run by transapients.
2000s - Etodism reaches its peak of popularity, and garners approximately 800 million followers around this time.
2165 - Eridanus League reformed under the Agree To Disagree Pact.
2690 - The Agree To Disagree Pact discarded, marking the final dissolution of the Eridanus League.
 
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Appears in Topics
0900 to 1200 AT: The Early Federation AgeHistorical PolitiesInner Sphere
Interstellar ColonizationInterstellar Trade
 
Development Notes
Text by Aaron Hamilton, updated by Steve Bowers and The Astronomer 2024
Initially published on 31 July 2000.

text updated August 8, 2024 by the Astronomer
 
 
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