Ragelos
| |
| Flag of Ragelos | |
| Motto: "Always forgive your enemy; nothing annoys them so much."' | |
| See Geography. | |
| Region | Cruithne |
|---|---|
| Capital | Ragelos Institute, Cruithne |
| Official Language(s) | Unknown. |
| Leader | Unknown. |
| Population | 50,000 (est.) |
| Currency | Utch |
| Stats: NSEconomy Pipian XML | |
The Colony of Ragelos is not truly independant: it is a subsidiary of a larger nation, and consequentially should not be judged upon its small size and limited background alone. Official datacasts indicate the sponsor has no intention of revealing itself at the present time, though it is unclear what purpose the Ragelos colony serves. Ragelos refers to their sponsors as their "benefactors."
The Ragelos colony was established in 3950AD, and is currently five years old. It shares its current location on the "second moon of Earth", 3753 Cruithne, a 5km wide asteroid in Earth orbit, with several other sponsor colonies. It is unclear whether these colonies are sponsored by the same government. The colony itself is barely more than a docking port, though experts speculate that there may be an extensive underground complex not visible from the surface. At the present time no foreign diplomats have been permitted to dock, though Ragelos has recently installed a broadband microwave relay satellite to maintain communications with Earth while the colony faces away from the planet.
Ragelos has diplomatic representation for Sol-based nations in New York and Paris. The embassy is staffed by only one person, who is not authorised to divulge information on the purpose of the colony. See Prof. Marcus Ujeu.
Geography
3753 Cruithne is an asteroid in orbit around the Sun, also known (rather incorrectly) as Earth's "second moon". Its orbit has unusual properties when viewed in relation to the orbit of the Earth. It was discovered on October 10, 1986, by J. Duncan Waldron, working with Robert H. McNaught, Malcolm Hartley and Michael R. S Hawkins at Siding Spring Observatory, Coonabarabran, Australia. It was then colonised by various powers, including Ragelos, in 3950AD. Cruithne was named after the first Celtic racio-tribal group to inhabit the British Isles.
Cruithne is approximately 5km in diameter, and its closest approach to Earth is 12Gm (million kilometres; approximately 30 times the separation between Earth and the Moon. Although Cruithne's orbit is not thought to be stable over the long term, calculations by Wiegart and Innanen showed that it has likely been in sync with Earth's orbit for a long time. There is no danger of a collision with Earth for millions of years, if ever. Cruithne is not visible to the naked eye at any point in its orbit.
The Ragelos colony is spread across approximately 250,000 sq m of Cruithne's surface, and descends to an unknown depth underneath.
Claims
The Ragelos colony claims sovereignty on behalf of its sponsor over the territory it inhabits on Cruithne, and the tethered docking station in orbit. Ragelos will consider unauthorised approach to either of these territories a violation of its sovereign rights and will act accordingly.
Ragelos operates a small fleet of transport ships which supply the colony. These vessels are automated, but will relay a distress signal should they be attacked. These ships trade ore extracted from the asteroid's surface for medical and food supplies. An attack on them is considered by Ragelos to be a direct attack on the colony itself.
