Lubua

Lubau is a planet full of raw and untamed natural power. From the boiling infernos of the southern hemispheres where gigantic refineries on tracks extract molten ore directly from the ground and the Naar Wind can disintegrate a gold-plated reflective exo in a matter of minutes, to the dry deserts of the north full of green oases, wandering nomads, and rumored Portal Builder ruins hidden under the sand, to the smog-filled skies of the plastic metropolis Mehrabi - Lubau has everything a curious visitor could wish for.
A MYSTERIOUS WORLD Lubau is the planet closest to the star, giving it a good strategic position near the portals, but the planet is important for many more reasons than its location. The very first thing the starfarers noticed when they arrived at Lubau was that the axial tilt of the planet was 43 degrees and that the same side was always facing the sun. This means that the planet is without seasons and that the variations in temperature between the hemispheres are enormous. Current science says that this is due to an earlier collision with another planetary body that is now missing. Another quirk that carries practical implications is that the magnetosphere of the planet is slight, but very strong. This explains why the only space station in orbit, Kadcidil (“the eye of the sun” in local dialects), can remain so “close” to the surface and always stay on the nightside. This is also the reason why there are no communications satellites above Lubau. Yet another mystery is that Lubau, despite its small size, has roughly the same gravitational pull as Kua. The astronics of the Foundation have no explanation for this, but it could be connected to the many problems encountered by geochemists here; despite all their advanced technology, they have a hard time getting more than shallow readings from the planet’s surface.
NIGHT AND DAY The two hemispheres are completely different. The temperature in the hottest areas of the southern hemisphere can reach well over 600 degrees Celsius during the day, while the northern half of the planet has more normal temperatures of between 50 and 100 degrees Celsius. There is no naturally occurring life in the southern hemisphere whatsoever, only traveling ore refineries on giant tracks or antigrav runners that gather molten ore from the ground. The refineries are isolated, peculiar communities that foster a hard and bleak population. The north has a small belt where natural life exists in the form of a few types of resilient steppe grass, the slow-moving dromedons and the feral dirhad. Sandstone fossils found in the northern desert also indicate that the planet at some point had both forests and oceans. Many Foundation chemists have written their theses about the history of Lubau, but no one has been able to present a solid theory that accounts for the planet’s oddities yet. The northern belt is divided into three provinces: Kerahana, Tersin and Nihar. Firstcome nomads wandering across the wastes between the oases originally inhabited these areas. Zenithian settlers later colonized the belt, especially the Kerahana province, founding what would later become the Mehrabi metropolis. Farthest to the north, where the sun never shines, there are massive glaciers. A handful of mining corporations come here to mine ice for the fusion reactors of the spaceships that visit Kadcidil.

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NOMADS AND FACTIONARIES

The indigenous people of Lubau consist of many different nomadic tribes, the two largest being the Beri and the Xinghur. The nomads live on the steppes of the northern hemisphere, although many of them have settled permanently around the new city of Mehrabi.Mehrabi is the heart of the planet’s petroleum and petrochemical industry and the place where the factions have the most power. Both Mehrabi and the city of Nihari are formally under the protection of the Consortium, while Tersin and the oasis settlements in the north are independent communities. The two largest refineries, Horizon and Terminator, are free from faction involvement and run as family cooperatives. The Icon faith is generally very strong here, with some refineries being almost theocracies. The Free League and the Colonial Agency both own a couple of smaller refineries.

THE SHARIFS

The nomad settlements traditionally appoint so-called sharifs to keep the peace, but with mandates only in the community or even within a single clan. There is practically no gun control among the nomads, but theft is punished severely. The refineries tend to keep small militias or hire sharifs to uphold the laws of the rulers – often draconically.

THE FAITHFUL

The population of Lubau is very devout, but practice a version of the Icon faith in which local myths related to the climate, the sun, and the desert play an important part. The Icons are often pictured differently here, especially the Judge. Around the Mahanji oasis, the Judge is revered as Ulung, the stone dragon, and the Faceless One is almost always Zahdak, the black dragon, Ulung’s opposite. Several pyromaniac cults thrive in the south, praising heat and fire in a heathen belief that this is the true aspect of the Judge.

FACTS ABOUT LUBAU

◆ DIAMETER: 4,879 km (roughly 40% that of Kua)
◆ EQUATORIAL CIRCUMFERENCE: 15,637 km (roughly 40% that of Kua)
◆ SURFACE AREA: 75 million square kilometers (roughly 15% that of Kua)
◆ GRAVITY: 0.97 standard gravity
◆ DAY LENGTH: 27 hours
◆ SIDEREAL YEAR: 91 days
◆ AXIAL TILT: 43 degrees

Type

Planet

Location under

Kua Star system