Biesel
Biesel was one of the first habitable exoplanets to be discovered by early exploration and is located in Tau Ceti. It was first colonized 2147, seventeen years after the development of the Warp Drive. Prior to human colonization which introduced Earth-based animal and plant populations the planet consisted of simple flora and small, furry gopher-like animals early colonists called Barks. These animals soon went extinct despite conservation efforts due to being out-competed by earth animals entering the wild, and by the fact many colonists considered the animals pests due to their loud, ceaseless barks and affinity to chew wires.
Since it’s colonization and maintained terraforming efforts, Biesel has been among the most influential and wealthy planets in human space. The Federal Republic of Biesel and the Tau Ceti System gained its independence in 2452 during the immense economic recession the Sol Alliance was suffering.
It is run by the Tau Ceti Assembly and State Senate in Mendell City, the capital, with the combined congress containing 286 representatives. 2 Representatives from the 120 Districts on Biesel, 20 Districts on New Gibson, and a single representative for each of the three Habitation-Stations with permanent populations over 4,000.
Nearly all the major corporations operated on Biesel before its independence, but since the creation of the Free Trade Zone they found themselves slowly bought out or undermined. Today Nanotrasen is the largest employer in Biesel and Tau Ceti, with it and its subsidiaries owning the majority of all business.
Mendell City is the capital of Biesel, and is considered the most affluent city in human space, people of all walks of life can find a purpose on Biesel and in Mendell City, and there are many prestigious education institutes that countless people use to push their intellect to new heights, where they are eagerly hired by the corporate giants that dominate the city.
However the city also has large low-income districts and neighborhoods that exist on the periphery of the more wealthy inner city. Most of these low-income areas house a sizable population of non-humans that are employed by Nanotrasen for cheap labor. Very few people actually live in abject poverty, with basic utilities and public services provided, but basic services tend to be less reliable and there are very few higher institutions available.
Description and Features
Demographics
Biesel has a population approaching twelve billion, most of which are human. However with the constitution guaranteeing the rights of "free travel" and "open immigration" the planet is gaining a rapidly rising population of alien inhabitants.
This population is primarily spread out over the continents with very little of the population going offshore to the islands. There are several major cities, including the capital, Mendell City. Phoenixport is the second largest city on the planet, with Scottsdan the third.
Mendell City contains the largest Shuttleport ever constructed, second only to the shuttleports of Earth. This large complex is vital to the city and sees thousands of shuttles come and go every day. NanoTrasen has situated many of their main offices in the city, taking advantage of the low taxation and cheap transportation.
Phoenixport is well-known across Biesel for it’s wondrous construction projects, replicating man-made wonders from old earth, such as the Leaning Tower of Pisa, or the Taj Mahal.
Where Mendell is the heart of Biesel’s transport industry, Scottsdan is it’s production center, with many modern industries dedicated to producing goods for sale in Biesel and beyond.
Population Demographics
Mendell City
Mendell City is the capital of Biesel and of Tau Ceti as a whole stretching over forty thousand square kilometers; it houses a total of 18 million people, situated on the south-western coast of the northernmost continent. Due to the low-tax system; many corporations and mega-corporations, such as Nanotrasen and Einstein Engines, have their head offices in the cities business sector. The city itself contains a mix of structures, ranging from kilometer high skyscrapers covering a dozen city blocks to almost serene suburbs, wrapped in the city’s urban sprawl.
Phoenixport
Selene’s continental capital is Phoenixport, situated, much like Mendell City, on the inner coast of of it's continent, adjacent to Severson’s Rift. Over the past few decades, the governing council of Phoenixport, and the Tau Ceti assembly as a whole have constructed replicas of many old-earth architectural wonders; such as the Eiffel Tower, or the Parthenon. This construction scheme has done much to improve the city as a whole, attracting vast swarms of tourists, eager to see these wonders rebuilt away from the population, pollution and decay of Earth.
Kasri
Though Eos is surpassed by New Gibson for sheer bulk production, it produces a great quantity of luxury goods; most of which are transported across the oceans in Biesel’s signature supercarriers; along with other goods, such as livestock and advanced electronics.
It is in Eos' capital, Kasri, where much of this production occurs. Kasri is situated on the closest point on Eos to Mendell City, so as to have the shortest route for the frequent voyages between the cities.
Scottsdan itself is a hive of industrial plants and urbanization, focused mostly on ore and luxury goods. The city itself is surprisingly pollution free, primarily due to strict pollution controls put in place by the Tau Ceti Assembly. They are determined to prevent another case of severe climate change as occurred on Earth in the 21st - 22nd centuries.
Geologic Description
The planet itself holds three major continents along with a multitude of smaller islands. Geological surveys of the unusual mountain ranges and extinct volcanoes show a violent geological past filled with asteroid impacts.
Continents
Despite being the smallest of the three continents of Biesel, Astraeus is the most affluent of Biesel’s continents and is home to the capital, Mendell City, as well as a population of 1 billion. It is the most heavily populated even four hundred years later. It possesses immense, rich plains that were easily colonized by early stations. These homesteads grew into towns, then cities, leaving Astraeus dotted with countless cities across it’s plains. Astraeus possess two major mountain ranges, the northern Grattle range, and the southern Uratines. The Grattle range holds Mount Turvin, the tallest mountain on Biesel at 8243m. The Grattle range is also well known for it’s numerous snow slopes; leading to a boom of wealth at the start of each ski season as people the world over book holidays in the more prestigious resorts.
Selene is north of Astraeus and is the second largest. Selene has the lowest population of the three continents despite its size, sitting close to 700 million and rising. Most of this population reside in towns along the coast. Selene has a single massive mountain range, named Splitrange by early settlers due to how the sheer cliffs and rugged, impassable mountains split the continent in half.
Eos is the largest continent with a population just exceeding 300 million. It is the most heavily industrialized of the three Bieselian continents, with a large amount of coastal flatlands, supplied by the rugged inlands, rich with minerals and resources of all varieties. Eos has two major mountain ranges, both running vertically. They are the northern Latra range, which is heavily mined for its abundance of copper and iron, and the southern mountain range, the Sevul. Towns that dot the Sevul mountains hold many sports tournaments, with its fans infamous for being more rabid fans of the thunderdome than anywhere else on the planet.
Oceans and Trade
Much of Biesel’s internal trade is done by immense freight carriers, traveling between the three continents; shifting massive loads of goods and materials from place to place; this is most easily seen in the large central ocean, known as Severson’s Rift; named for the captain of the first landing on Biesel’s surface, Nigel Severson.
The oceans of Biesel are benign; with the almost non-existent tectonic activity, there is little risk of Tsunamis; tropical storms are also known to form with a similar regularity to Earth, though with the smaller amount of landmass, the tropical storms can be significantly stronger, they are, however, unlikely to harm a super-carrier; the colossal vessels are floating cities in their own right, stretching over dozens of square kilometers, they are impossible to capsize, and can easily weather the storms.
Flora and Fauna - The Legacy of Earth
Ironically, while Biesel maintains strict environmental standards, the original colonization of the planet saw settlers introduce plants and animals shipped from Earth to the local ecosystems. Before human settlement Biesel boasted native plants and animals, all of which were out-competed by the introduced species.
Biesel now has been fully transformed to resemble Earth with both flora and fauna. The coniferous, temperate, and other types of forests boast deer, elk, wolves, bees, and other analogous species. The deserts and waters also carry earth species suited for those areas.
Nearly all native alien species on Biesel went extinct in the decades of terraforming work. A handful of native insects, fish, and rodents managed to adapt to the new ecosystems and have thrived. What few large animals remain remain inside zoos for public viewing.
The most important introduced species to Biesel remains the all-important bee and its many subspecies.