H. Beam Piper

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The Great Piper Mailing List (PIPER-L) Landgrab

Developer Report
Vishnu
Mike Robertson, July 2007
CANON: Vishnu is mentioned twice in Piper's writings. It is the source of a legal case in Little Fuzzy, and it is mentioned as a world of the Empire in "A Slave is a Slave."

APOCRYPHA: Based on its mention in A Slave is a Slave, I am assuming that Vishnu is an important world in the Empire. I have therefore assumed that Vishnu is one of the civilized worlds noted in Space Viking. Vishnu is not mentioned in Space Viking because its ruling class is very insular and seeks no power or impact in pre-Empire politics. They trade in a very narrow area around the planet, no more than a few weeks journey. The civilized world that they are closest to is Odin. Due to their location, they play a more prominent role in the Empire after the capital is moved to Odin.

HISTORY: Vishnu was originally discovered and settled in the 5th Century. As noted, it grew into a very insular world that was not much interested in other worlds and played no role in Federation or pre-Empire politics. They survived the Interstellar Wars with no loss of civilization or technology due to an informal alliance with Odin. The Interstellar Wars and the fall of the Federation accelerated natural trends in the population, particularly the elite, and caused them to turn further inward and reduce their contact with other worlds to a minimum. Though they tried to stay out of interstellar politics, they took care to never oppose Odin in any important matters. The twentieth century analog to this relationship would be Russia and Finland.

POPULATION: Vishnu has one and a half billion people in the 19th Century AE.

CLIMATE: Vishnu is the third planet of a G2 sun and has a climate very similar to Terra.

ECONOMY: Vishnu has a good mixture of fertile land and industrial metals. Its economy grew during the System States War due to increased Federation spending and trade. Though it suffered a slight slump after the System States War ended, Vishnu was able to take advantage of its location near Odin to maintain trade and develop its industrial base. These measures, along with an informal alliance with Odin, allowed it to survive the Interstellar Wars with its civilization intact. It has always been low on fissionables, and the government has rigidly controlled their production and trade.

GEOGRAPHY: Vishnu consists of three large continents and four small ones. The largest continent Alpha was settled first, but Beta continent has the most population, along with the capital city and main spaceport of New Durban.

Epsilon, Gamma, and Omega are small continents that are primarily farming areas. Delta is mainly desert and sparsely inhabited. Zeta has very little population, being too far north and consisting mainly of permanently frozen land.