Keepers of Meridian
The Keepers are the masterminds behind the lost colony of Meridian. Subscribing to a radical form of deep ecology, they believed advanced technological civilization was inevitably self-destructive and sought to create a refuge in which people could live sustainably and in peace for long periods of time.
History
During the later portion of the Second Interstellar Period, the Keepers deployed a wormhole to Meridian's solar system, located in what is now the Frontier of American Space. They found the planet itself amenable to habitation with little terraforming required, and an excellent site for their project since it was geologically quiet, orbited a sun with minimal flare activity and a sparse debris disk, and had virtually no fossil fuels. As Selva remarked, it made an excellent place for intelligent beings to survive in the absence of high technology. With the lack of fossil fuels cutting off easy industrialization, the Keepers could ensure their subjects developed along their desired lines.Few records exist of the early days, most probably being destroyed with the Iron Mountain when Norla nuked it from orbit, but it seems that the Keepers created humans from gene banks and populated what would later become the Arztillan homeland with them. During this time their rule was near-absolute, they enforced their deep-ecologist philosophy and prohibited war. About a century into their project, a hero known as Arztillus learned their secrets and led a revolt which overthrew them. This event later became known as the Fall of the Keepers, all of whom were presumed to be dead and their technology base smashed. Without Keeper control, the Meridian inhabitants assumed a mode of living similar in society and technology to Mediterranean Terra during classical antiquity. (Likely parts of this were deliberate, i.e. the Keepers taught the inhabitants to base their societies off historical examples.) However, one Keeper, Norla, survived and began plotting to regain power and restore the original plan.
Meridian was recontacted by the Stellar Compact a few years before 173 UY. Around this time, Norla persuaded an Arztillan Senator by the name of Dulane to declare himself Caesar and start a campaign to conquer the entire inhabited area of the planet. This threatened to cause a humanitarian crisis and delay efforts at technological uplift. In response, the Existential Risks Directorate commissioned the Meridian Expedition to go to the planet and put a stop to him. The Expedition came to the attention of Norla, who attempted to thwart it via her agents in the Arztillan Panarchy and the Savage Hunters of the Outlands.
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