Editing Arden 689-C (section)

== Background ==
Erehwon Colony is on Sophie, a moon of the Gas Giant Zeus, in the Kaldasa<br>
Arden 689-C 689 is not the number of children in his Crèche, Arden has often had to explain. He were born in the summer of 2489, and thus 6/89.  The rest of his crèche approximately 24 children born that month share his numerical ID.  And C means that he is the third of his "class."

Erehwon Colony is on Sophie, a moon of the Gas Giant Zeus, in the Kaldasa System (a Rim Planet). Sophie is unremarkable except being a fairly dim planet, suitable for miners and others unaccustomed to the light of day.  Its principal spaceport serves the mining center of Purgatory, a small city of dubious moral character. No one is happy to be in Purgatory, but it is better than some places, and eventually you can leave. "Sophie" was not terraformed. It has .95G gravity and a breathable if tainted atmosphere. Its rich mineral deposits would endure better in this poor environment, so the decision was made to keep it. Most natives can get by with a simple combination of supplements and an oxygen mister to supplement the weak atmosphere. Non natives tend to wear breathing masks or even full spacesuits.  Its primary claim to fame is being a source of porous hydrogen bearing rock, Sophite, which was used as a raw fuel source by the Independents during the war. This fact was not discovered until late in the war, when it was no longer relevant to the outcome. Sophie survived the war mostly unscathed.

Erehwon Colony was founded by a Utopian society bent on not replicating the problems of Earth that Was. The founders made their plans aboard the Arks en route to the Verse and quickly found themselves the object of some ridicule by the other colonists. By the time they reached the 'Verse they decided to colonize one of the more remote planets, and settled on the moon of Zeus. The mining colony wasn't likely to attract any untoward interest. They would be free to develop their own society, without interference.

Erewhon Colony was built into a large crater on the southern hemisphere of the planet. A closer to normal atmosphere is pumped into the crater producing relatively normal (untainted) air to breathe and an environment suitable to growing vegetables and such. It also provides considerable isolation. The crater is approximate five kilometers in diameter and 200 meters deep at its base. A lake of water covers the base of the crater is keep recycling and fresh by pumps and filters in the city, much of which floats on the lake.

Erehwon Colony is approximately 5000 people, born in Crèches when the population warrants it. It is not a growing colony; its 5000 population mirrors that of the original colonists. Each year a number of children are created from a combination of genetic materials from the existing colonists and from a "gene-bank" which came with them from Earth that Was. Many of the children today are the children of Earth the Was.  Your Crèche was remarkable for a minor cataclysm wherein two thirds of the original children died shortly after birth. It was believed the genetic materials had been compromised somehow, the remaining children did exceptionally well both physically and mentally. Several of them were recruited in youth by special schools in the core. You were kept in the colony and nothing was heard from the others. Your Crèche always had a stigma attached to it, as though your abilities were bought at the expense of your siblings somehow.

The people of Erehwon are a taciturn and cerebral lot. They often refer to themselves as No One or Nobody from Nowhere to emphasize their role in a collective. Their education is classical and fairly rigorous. There is no economy to speak of, people simply get what they need and do what they can or what is needed. There is no leadership, it is a true anarchy, but each 'nobody' is taught from youth to think of the needs of the collective when decisions need to be made. Discussions use consensus to arrive at their decisions when needed. There is little or no sense of ownership to ideas or hurt feelings when decisions are made without ones consent. Close personal or romantic relationships were discouraged, though some 'play' was permitted. That said, to an outsider it looks little different from well run corporation, church or school.

Arden was clearly above normal in intellect and was told it was for that reason he was sent to Osiris for medical training (to update the colony on new techniques). He was given a cursory introduction to the culture of the 'verse some cash and a ticket off world. His days in Osiris were difficult, but rewarding. He always assumed that he would return to Erewhon, but he enjoyed the variety of people, and the women. He rarely was able to get the courage to do anything about it, but he certainly had his fantasies.

When he returned to Erewhon he was not greeted with much affection or interest. He did note that none of his crèche mates were around, and there was something else amiss. He seemed to be almost shunned by others. Initially he thought it was their parochialism, or his own foreign traits picked up at medical school. But soon he realized that it was something else. He was investigating the disappearance of the others from his crèche when he was nearly killed he went on a jaunt to Purgatory to check out the transport records. When he activated the vehicle it began to overheat and something told him this was no usual engine problem. He fled the scene just before the car exploded. He decided that it wasn't safe to stay in the colony and he hitched a ride on a supply vehicle from the mining center that stopped by.

He searched the cortex in Purgatory and found an ad for Colony Doctor on Jiangyin, he booked passage to Bernadette on an ore freighter and then aboard the MakeMake. The rest is history.