Systems: Horesh

(ABN/Horesh/Religion) Dozens were killed and hundreds arrested when two sects officially banned by the government clashed in the Horeshi pilgrimage site of New Punon last night. The Technosopholist and Sovereign Body of Redemption movements have long been at odds with each other and mainline Redemptionalism over the proper role of technology in society--Technosopholists believe that the Prophetic Walker advocated the use of cybernetic implants, while Sovereign Bodiers claim that a strict reading of the Record reveals that any labor-saving machinery should be forbidden. The two groups engaged in a theological debate with rocks and homemade explosives in the streets of the village, but put aside their differences and attacked security forces when they arrived on the scene, forcing the deployment of microwave weapons to quell the disturbance.


Horesh
T0 E1 R1
Breadbasket of the cluster
Religious zealots
Leased out the system

A temperate planet in the second orbit of a yellow-white star, Horesh has long been known for agriculture. The fertile soil of the supercontinent Horesh Prime's coastal plains supports massive farms whose yields are unrivaled in the cluster.

In the days of New Canaan, the agricultural industry was monopolized by corporate farms worked by emigrants largely drawn from the poorer districts of Far Canaan. After the Severance, the corporate managers maintained control by becoming harshly repressive, setting themselves up as nearly feudal overlords. They emphasized the production of cash crops and exotic foodstuffs that could still turn a profit on the cluster's dwindling commercial starlift capacity, and Horesh ironically became a world of hunger.


In 37 AS, however, a man named Orem began walking. He walked for 10 years, covering the entire circumference of Horesh Prime while preaching the inherent equality of all men. By the time he finished, he was the figurehead of a divinely-inspired rebellion. Orem, by now known as the Prophetic Walker and his journey the Walk of Redemption, either translated into Heaven or died of exhaustion (depending on who you listen to) in 48 AS, but his followers continued to battle the managerial government with some success. The war was long and bloody, but in 55 AS the Citizen's Republic of Marah, who allegedly had been supplying the rebels with weaponry for some time, directly intervened. The Citizens' Peace Force Orbital Brigade occupied the capital and installed a new government headed by leaders of the revolt.

The newly-established Democratic State of the Walk of Redemption, perhaps embarassingly for the aggressively secular Marans, organized itself along theocratic lines, but was officially approved by the Citizen's Republic when it redistributed and communalized the planet's farmlands. Since then, the two systems have been formal allies, with Marah by far the senior partner.

Today, the Redemptionist government maintains control over the rich coastal plains, but has little presence in the vast deserts, jungles and high plateaus of the interior. These wilderness areas are a refuge for criminals both religious and secular, from dissident sects to smugglers.

The current population is approximately 20 million, with the vast majority living in villages and small towns. There are a few major cities, though, including the capital of Equality (formerly Ohalo, pop. 800,000). In addition, the Citizen's Republic of Marah holds a perpetual lease on the equatorial island of Pinna, which it uses as a spaceport and subsidized resort area.

Horesh has two main exports--exotic food items and Redemptionist missionaries. The former are well-received throughout the cluster, the latter less so. Marah controls most of Horesh's trade, and sells the Redemptionists agricultural equipment and a variety of technological luxuries (some of which are proscribed by the religious authorities, but secretly enjoyed by the same nonetheless).

The system's third planet, the subjovian Horeb, also has economic value. Horeb's atmosphere contains enormous reserves of He3, and its relatively low escape velocity and proximity to the system's star make harvesting and exporting it extremely attractive. Marah maintains a base orbiting Horeb to service dronescoops and tankers.

The Army of Redemption, the military of Horesh, is well-equipped for internal security, but lacks a space presence. However, Marah bases a destroyer regiment in the system, as well as an infantry division tasked with guarding the Pinna Spaceport. Unauthorized (i.e., non-Maran) vessels slipping into the system can expect to be intercepted and inspected.