Stars and Planetary Systems in Fiction

STARS AND PLANETARY SYSTEMS (In Fiction)

STARS AND PLANETARY SYSTEMS (In Fiction)

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

A 10 B 19 C 28 D 31 E 33 F 37 G 40 H 47 I 48

K 49 L 51 M 55 N 61 O 62 P 63 R 70 S 75

T 80 U 82 V 84 W 85 X 90 Z 91 # 94

OVERVIEW The notion that there might be inhabited extrasolar planets can be traced at least as far back as Giordano Bruno who, in his De l’infinito, universo e mondi (On the Infinite, Universe and Worlds, 1584), declared that “There are then innumerable suns, and an infinite number of earths revolve around those suns.” Allusions to inhabitants of other stars’ planetary systems remained rare in literature for some centuries thereafter. One of these is found in Voltaire’s Micromégas (1752), which features a traveller from Sirius.2

As science fiction became established in the early 20th century, destinations such as the Moon, Mars, Venus, and other bodies within the Solar System began to seem stale.3 Authors invoked a variety of mechanisms for superluminal travel (or generation starships) and placed their stories on worlds in planetary systems around other stars, an innovation that gave them the freedom to construct exotic fictional planets and themes. This tendency became predominant once the exploration of the Solar System was complete enough to conclusively demonstrate the unlikelihood of any highly developed form of extraterrestrial life here, aside from Humans on Earth.

Although some of the stars named in works of science fiction are purely imaginary, many authors and artists have preferred to use the names of real stars that are well known to astronomers, and indeed the lay public, either because they are notably bright in the sky or because they are relatively close to Earth.

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PLANETARY ROMANCES The fictional genres that appear in the list below include films, television serials, interactive games, and print (among others). Of all these, the print medium, specifically novels and novellas, are of note because they are often planetary romances.

Any science fiction tale whose primary venue is a planet and whose plot turns on the nature of the planet can be described as a planetary romance. It is not enough that the story simply be set on a world. For example, James Blish’s A Case of Conscience (1958) is set on the planet Lithia, but it is not a planetary romance because the nature or description of this world has little bearing on the story being told. And in the hard science fiction novels by Hal Clement (see 61 Cygni: A Mission of Gravity below) and Robert L. Forward, the worlds on which they are set amount to little more than the sum of the physical and logical problems that they illustrate, and that their protagonists solve. In the true planetary romance, the world itself encompasses—and survives—the tale that temporarily illuminates it.4

One seminal practitioner of the planetary romance was Edgar Rice Burroughs, as for example in his Barsoom (Mars) series (1912–1943). However, as with most writers of his era, his settings did not extend beyond our own Solar System, and so his work is not found in this article.5

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A

ACAMAR (Theta Eridani)

ʴʴ The Wounded Sky (1983 ) Star Trek novel by Diane Duane. The Enterprise sets a course for Acamar before it is overtaken by several Klingon battle-cruisers. ʴʴ The Vengeance Factor (1989) episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation written by Sam Rolfe. The Enterprise, after finding traces of Acamarian blood at a looted Federation outpost, goes to Acamar III. There they learn of a group of Acamarian nomadic pirates known as the Gatherers.

ACHERNAR (Alpha Eridani)

ʴʴ Tékumel (1940), novels and games by M. A. R. Barker.

Achernar is the home sun of the Ahoggyá. ʴʴ The Killing Machine (1964), “Demon Princes” novel

by Jack Vance. The location of the semi-mythical world Thamber is hinted at by a traditional bit of school-yard. ʴʴ The Eyes of the Overworld (1966) novel by Jack Vance. Firx, “a small white creature, all claws, prongs, barbs, and hooks”, from the star Achernar, is affixed to Cugel’s liver by a sleight of Iucounu. Star Wolf (1970), trilogy by Edmond Hamilton. The plot of the third novel in the trilogy concerns an attempt to retrieve a 10

treasure stolen from Achernar. The series was adapted as a Japanese science fiction TV series by Tsuburaya Productions in 1978. ʴʴ Mindbridge (1976), novel by Joe Haldeman. First contact with an aggressive alien race occurs at Achernar, the most distant star system accessible from Earth (144 light-years away), using the instantaneous space transport mechanism called the Levant-Meyer Translation.

ALGENUBI (Epsilon Leonis)

ʴʴ Tékumel (1940), novels and games by M. A. R. Barker.

Algenubi is the home sun of the Hlutrgú.

ALGOL (Beta Persei)

ʴʴ“Beyond the Wall of Sleep” (1919), short story by H. P. Lovecraft. Algol is the location of the final battle between the “light being” and its interstellar nemesis, a vague “cosmic oppressor”. The battle is marked by the appearance of a nova in the night sky near Algol. ʴʴ Algol (1920), silent film written by Hans Brennert and Fridel Köhne, and directed by Hans Werckmeister.

Known for its futuristic scenography by Walter Reimann, it features Emil Jannings as Robert Herne, a coal miner who encounters an alien from Algol. ʴʴ Mekton (1984–1994), role-playing game designed by Mike Pondsmith and published by R. Talsorian Games.

The Algol system is one setting for the game, which features Japanese-style mecha.

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ʴʴ Phantasy Star original series (1987–1993), role-playing video games and other supplementary media created by Sega. The games are set in the planetary system of Algol, home of the primary antagonist, Dark Force. ʴʴ“Qpid” (1991), episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation written by Randee Russell and Ira Steven Behr. The episode features a civilized alien race called the Algolians. ʴʴ Stargonauts (1994) and Bikini Planet (2000), novels

by David S. Garnett. Algol is a world ruled by a matriarchal monarchy of intelligent cats.

ALKALUROPS (Mu Boötis)

ʴʴ Dune (1965) and other novels in the Dune universe

by Frank Herbert. Ix is the ninth planet (hence its name) from the star Alkalurops (named Rodale in the Legends of Dune prequel novels) and is a pre-eminent source of high technology in the Dune universe. The devices manufactured on Ix and Richese are commonplace and considered essential, though they sometimes test the limits of the anti-technology proscriptions of the Butlerian Jihad. ʴʴ Dune (1965) and other novels in the Dune universe by Frank Herbert. Ix is the ninth planet (hence its name) from the star Alkalurops (named Rodale).

Known for its futuristic scenography by Walter Reimann, it features Emil Jannings as Robert Herne, a coal miner who encounters an alien from Alkalurops.

The four novels in the series examine the effects of globalization on isolated societies.

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ALNILAM (Epsilon Orionis)

ʴʴ Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964), film written by John C. Higgins and Ib Melchior based on the novel Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe; directed by Byron Haskin. Alnilam is the home star of the aliens in this movie, including the slave named “Friday” freed by the marooned Earth astronaut.

ALNITAK (Zeta Orionis)

ʴʴ“The City on the Edge of Forever” (1967), episode of Star Trek: The Original Series written by Harlan Ellison.

Captain Kirk struggles to recall a book written around 2030 by a famous novelist. ʴʴ Infinity Beach (2000), novel by Jack McDevitt.

Alnitak is the location of the first contact between human and alien civilizations.

ALPHA CETI (Menkar or Menkab)

ʴʴ“Space Seed” (1967), episode of Star Trek: The Original Series written by Gene L. Coon and Carey Wilber, and the second Star Trek film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), film written by Jack WvB. Sowards and directed by Nicholas Meyer. Ceti Alpha V (note twisted Bayer designation) is the planet to which Khan and his 13

crew are exiled in “Space Seed”, James Kirk’s vain hope in so exiling them being that they can establish a colony (this colony could then be called “New Australia”, though this is never explicitly stated), and from which they escape in The Wrath of Khan after it is rendered uninhabitable as a consequence of the destruction of Ceti Alpha VI. ʴʴ“Starvin’ Marvin in Space” (1999), episode 13 of season 3 of South Park. Alpha Ceti VI is the planet Marklar, whose inhabitants speak a language identical to English except that every noun is replaced with the word Marklar. The planet is subjected to a controversy when Christian missionaries attempt to proselytize the Marklar. ʴʴ“Twilight” (2003), episode of Star Trek: Enterprise written by Mike Sussman. Ceti Alpha V (note twisted Bayer designation) is the home of what is left of Humanity after the Xindi destroy the Earth (along with Mars and multiple extrasolar Human-colonized planets) in an alternate timeline; the “cruel joke.”

ALPHA CORONAE BOREALIS (Alphecca/Alphekka)

ʴʴ Star Carrier, novel series by William H. Keith, Jr. writing as Ian Douglas. Alien radio transmissions from Alphekka are detected on Earth, leading the Terran Confederation of States to the conclusion that it may be a major Sh’daar base. In the second book, Center of Gravity (2011), Rear Admiral Alexander Koenig is given the go-ahead to launch Operation Crown Arrow 14

and attack the presumed base. They discover a large, automated spaceship factory, defeat the fleet defending it, and destroy the station. ʴʴ The 1997 Star Trek: The Next Generation novel by Diane Duane cites Alphecca IV as the home planet of the Alpheccan civilization, which rarely leaves. ʴʴ In the 2002 computer game Star Trek: Starfleet Command III the seventh planet of the Alphecca system, Gemma VII, is a holding of the Romulan Star Empire, and a friendly port for Romulan characters.

ALPHA DRACONIS (Thuban)

ʴʴ“That Darn Katz!” (2010), episode of the animated science fiction comedy series Futurama created by Matt Groening. In this episode, it is revealed that the domestic house cat is originally from the planet Thuban. ʴʴ Mass Effect 2 (2010), role playing game developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts. In this game, players can explore the Thuban planetary system.

ALPHA TUCANAE ʴʴ Star Control II (1992), computer game developed

by Toys for Bob and published by Accolade. Alpha Tucanae I is the homeworld of the Zoq, Fot, and Pik species. The planet’s fourth native sapient species, the Zebranky, preyed on the Zoq, Fot, and Pik until the three united to wipe them out. During the course of the game, who will destroy all life on the planet.

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ANTARES (Alpha Scorpii)

ʴʴ Tékumel (1940 ), novels and games by M. A. R. Barker. Antares is the home sun of the Shén, or Demon Warriors. ʴʴ The Stars My Destination (1956 ), classic science fiction novel (titled Tiger! Tiger! in the UK) written by Alfred Bester. After his apotheosis in the burning cathedral, the legendary Gully Foyle teleports stark naked to the vicinity of several stars, including Antares: “encircled by two hundred and fifty planetoids of the size of Mercury, of the climate of Eden...”27 28 Computer game developed by Volition, Inc. and published by Interplay Entertainment. Antares is the primary star of a planetary system that may be visited in this game. ʴʴ Antares (2007—2011), series of graphic novels by Luiz Eduardo de Oliveira (Léo). The series, comprising four volumes, is set on the planet Antares. After the failure of the Betelgeuse colonisation mission, series heroine Kim is back on Earth. Meanwhile, advance scouts in the Antares system have witnessed some distressingly strange events. Worried about the future of this new mission, the sponsors of the Antares project call upon Kim to accompany the first colonists, offering legal amnesty for Alexa and Mark in exchange.30 ʴʴ Melancholia (2011), film by Lars von Trier. In this film, the occultation of Antares is the first evidence of a rogue gas giant which eventually destroys Earth. ʴʴ Analogue: A Hate Story (2012 ), visual novel and interactive game by Christine Love, set in the far future.

The player character has the task of investigating the 16

logs of the lost generation colony ship Mugunghwa, which has been found drifting lifelessly around Antares’ secondary companion star, Antares B. In doing so, the player communicates with and is helped by two artificial intelligences, Hyun-ae and Mute. ʴʴ Star Control II (1992 ), computer game developed

by Toys for Bob and published by Accolade. Alpha Scorpii I is a “Shattered World”, a planet terraformed by the Mycon using their organic “Deep Child” devices.

It is one of three planets where Deep Child Eggcase Fragments, an item necessary to advance the plot, can be found.

ARCTURUS (Alpha Boötis)

ʴʴ A Voyage to Arcturus (1920 ), novel by David Lindsay.

The story narrates a mystical inner passage through a sequence of fantastic landscapes, set on Tormance, an imaginary planet orbiting Arcturus—which in the novel (but not in reality) is a double star system, consisting of the stars Branchspell and Alppain. Ethical precepts and trials of the soul are embodied in the extraordinary Tormance lifeforms. Voyage is thought to have inspired C. S. Lewis’ Cosmic Trilogy novels.31 This landmark novel provides an outstanding example of the use of imaginary but hauntingly familiar mythologies on another planet.32 ʴʴ What Mad Universe (1949 ), novel written by Fredric Brown. In a parallel universe, human beings are engaged in total war with the Arcturians. ʴʴ Alien From Arcturus (1956 ), expanded as Arcturus Landing (1978 ), novel written by Gordon R. Dickson 17

describing an attempt to build a ship with a fasterthan-light propulsion system. The aliens in this novel, sublimated sex-objects, are decidedly cuddly, with shiny black noses, and a striking resemblance to the Ewoks of the Star Wars f ranchise.33 ʴʴ“The Curse of Peladon” (1972 ), serial written by Brian Hayles for the television series Doctor Who. Mars and Arcturus are depicted as old enemies. The Arcturian in the show is quite grotesque - a tentacled head in a glass dome mounted on a mechanized life support box that allows it to breathe in Peladon’s atmosphere. ʴʴ The Book of Dreams (1981 ), novel by Jack Vance.

Arcturus is the home sun of the planet Arcturus IV, where master criminal Howard Alan Treesong is accosted in a back street of Bugtown by a petty thief.

The mugger, it turns out, is not registered with the Organization. He receives a tongue lashing, but not one cent from Howard, who turns him in for a fink.34 ʴʴ Spaced Invaders (1990 ), satirical film written by Patrick Read Johnson and Scott Lawrence Alexander, and directed by Patrick Read Johnson. ʴʴ Star Control II (1992 ), computer game developed by Toys for Bob and published by Accolade. The Arcturus system contains the homeworld of a now-extinct race called the Burvixese.

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B

BARNARD’S STAR Barnard’s Star is a red dwarf of apparent magnitude 9 and is thus too dim to be seen with the unaided eye. However, at approximately 6 light years away it is the second closest stellar system to the Sun; only the Alpha Centauri system is known to be closer. Thus, even though it is suspected to be a flare star, it has attracted the attention of science fiction authors, game developers, and filmmakers. A claim has been made for the discovery by astrometry of one or more planets in the Barnard’s system, but it has been refuted as an artifact of telescope maintenance and upgrade work.

ʴʴ The Legion of Space (1934 ), magazine series and later (1947 ) a fix-up written by Jack Williamson. Barnard’s Star is host to a gigantic planet that is populated by ferocious animals, and that is home to the single city of the ancient and dreadful race of the Medusae. ʴʴ The Black Corridor (1969 ), novel written by Michael Moorcock. The planet Munich 15040 orbiting Barnard’s Star is the destination for a band of refugees fleeing.

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ʴʴ Blindpassasjer (1978), Norwegian television series

by Jon Bing and Tor Åge Bringsværd. Barnard’s Star is orbited by Rossum, a planet inhabited by robots that, inexplicably, have the semblance of pre-industrial European agricultural laborers. ʴʴ Spacecraft 2000-2100 AD (1978), a Terran Trade Authority book by Stewart Cowley. A planet in the Barnard’s Star system is haunted by a peculiar apparition that takes the form of a mysterious spacecraft. ʴʴ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (1978), novels and other media by Douglas Adams. Barnard’s Star is a way station for interstellar travelers. ʴʴ The Alien Encounters (1979), film written and directed by James T. Flocker. It is an American B movie which follows the story of an investigator who is sent to locate an alien probe which has landed on Earth. Aliens from Barnard’s Star have created a machine known as a betaron which has remarkable rejuvenating effects. ʴʴ“Galactica Discovers Earth” (1980), triple episode and novelization36 by Michael Resnick from the television series Galactica 1980. Dr. Zee conjectures that the Cylons are located at Barnard’s Star, awaiting the Galacticans’ arrival at the Earth, before making their final strike. ʴʴ Hyperion (1989–1997 ), novels by Dan Simmons.

Barnard’s Star is the sun of the agricultural planet Barnard’s World, where it hangs above the leafy streets “like a great, tethered, red balloon”. It is the homeworld of Rachel and Sol Weintraub.37 ʴʴ Life on Another Planet (2007), graphic novel written and drawn by Will Eisner. The storyline concerns the reaction of humans on Earth after a signal is detected from intelligent beings orbiting Barnard’s Star.38 20

BETA AQURAII (Sadalsuud)

ʴʴ Rhialto the Marvellous (1984), “Dying Earth” novel

by Jack Vance. Beta Aquarii controls a planet of the same name, Sadal Suud (two words). In this novel, set in the last days of the Earth, the witches battle the wizards (including Rhialto himself ). Llorio the Murthe is a witch; her home is on Sadal Suud. But the planet is “a steaming quagmire infested by owls, gnats and rodents: quite unsuitable for one of [her] delicacy”.39 ʴʴ Star Control II (1992 ), computer game developed by Toys for Bob and published by Accolade. Beta Aquarii I, known as Fahz, is the homeworld of the Utwig, who claim to have arisen from a location on the planet known as the Murky Bog.

BETA AQUILAE (Alshain)

ʴʴ SpaceWreck: Ghost Ships and Derelicts of Space (1979 ), a Terran Trade Authority book by Stewart Cowley. The story “The Warworld of Alshain” is set on Alshain IV, a dying world inhabitaged by a race once technologically advanced. ʴʴ“Eye of the Beholder” (1994 ), episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation written by René Echevarria (teleplay) and Brannon Braga (story). This episode establishes Beta Aquilae II as Federation territory in the 24th century, home to a human population and a Starfleet training installation.

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BETA AURIGAE (Menkalinan)

ʴʴ“Turnabout Intruder” (1969 ), episode of Star Trek: The Original Series written by Arthur H. Singer. The mission of the USS Enterprise to rendezvous with the USS Potemkin at Beta Aurigae is undermined by a body-switching struggle between Captain Kirk and his onetime intimate, Dr. Janice Lester. ʴʴ Wheelworld (1981 ), novel by Harry Harrison. Beta Aurigae has a system of six planets; the third planet Halvmörk is the only habitable one. The novel’s protagonist must lead colonists on a hazardous journey after re-supply ships from Earth fail to appear on schedule.

Contrary to fact, Beta Aurigae is a white dwarf.

BETA CAELI ʴʴ Alien Legacy (1994 ), video strategy game developed

by Joe Ybarra and published by Sierra Entertainment.

The game includes elements of city construction, research, resource management, industrial production and combat, all starting with the arrival of the colony ship UNS Calypso together with its player/captain at the planet Gaea in the Beta Caeli star system. Another ship, the UNS Tantalus, was dispatched to Beta Caeli after Calypso, but because of intervening advances in technology it arrived first.40 Barnard’s Star is orbited by Rossum, a planet inhabited by robots. A planet in the Barnard’s Star system is haunted by a peculiar being who they had never crossed paths with before.

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BETA CORVI (Kraz)

ʴʴ Starman Jones (1953 ), novel written by Robert A. Heinlein. Beta Corvi III is a planet with humanoids.41 ʴʴ The Ship Who Sang (1969 ), fixup of short stories

by Anne McCaffrey. In the fourth tale, “Dramatic Mission”, the main character, Helva, travels to the gas giant Beta Corvi IV, meeting the “Beta Corviki”. ʴʴ Star Control II (1992 ), computer game developed

by Toys for Bob and published by Accolade. The gas giant Beta Corvi IV, or Source, is home to a sentient species of incandescent gas bags called the Slylandro.

Star Control II used names of real constellations and stars for fictional stars: In the game, Beta Corvi is a green dwarf instead of a bright yellow giant. The game’s optional side quest to this planet is an “obvious homage” to Anne McCaffrey’s short story.

BETA ERIDANI (Cursa)

ʴʴ The Waters of Andros (2007 ), novel by Madsen Pirie.

Pirie writes, “Andros is a beautiful and perfectly formed blue jewel of a planet, sparkling in the blackness of space. It is far away, circling the distant star.” 42 ʴʴ The Art of the Impossible, 2003 novel by Keith R. A. DeCandido. Cursa is the primary of a solar system controlled by the Klingon Empire.

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ʴʴ Star Trek Online (2010 ), video game by Cryptic Studios. Cursa is the site of the mission “Test of Mettle”, in which the newly promoted Klingon Defense Force player character takes their newest ship on a shakedown cruise and is attacked by warriors from the recently dissolved House of Torg.

BETA HYDRI ʴʴ Uller Uprising, (1952 ), a novel by H. Beam Piper.

Uller, a colonized planet with silicon-based life forms, is in the Beta Hydri system. ʴʴ Time for the Stars (1956 ), a novel by Robert Heinlein. This novel explores the twin paradox as one of a pair of twins linked by instantaneous telepathy sets out on a space voyage on the interstellar torchship Lewis and Clark. Among the stars visited is Beta Hydri. ʴʴ A Canticle for Leibowitz (1959 ), a novel by Walter M. Miller Jr. In the last part of the novel, Fiat Voluntas Tua, Beta Hydri is briefly mentioned as one of the few existing extrasolar colonies of humanity in the year 3781. ʴʴ“Daughters of Earth” (1968 ), a short story by Judith Merril. In 2091, the star’s second planet Uller is colonized by the 500 crew members of the starship Newhope after a 43-year voyage (compare Beta Hydri: Uller Uprising above). ʴʴ The Man in the Maze (1969 ), a novel by Robert Silverberg. A science-fiction rework of Sophocles’ “Philoctetes” set in a future where humans are actively exploring distant space - Muller, the central character living alone in self-imposed exile in a lethal maze constructed by long-extinct aliens, has been altered by current uncommunicative aliens living on Beta 24

Hydri IV to broadcast intolerably depressive emotion telepathically, but because of this unique characteristic must be persuaded to assist humanity to communicate their consciousness to another expanding telepathic species with the capability to take over and control large human communities. ʴʴ Great Space Battles (1979 ), a Terran Trade Authority book by Stewart Cowley and Charles Herridge. The book’s first half, “Part One —The Laguna Wars”, is the story of a war in 2219–2220 between the Terrans and the inhabitants of Laguna, which is identified as Beta Hydri in one illustration.43 ʴʴ Frontier: Elite II (1993 ) and Frontier: First Encounters (1995 ), computer games written by David Braben et al. Beta Hydri is controlled by the Federation.

It has two planets with a population of several billions. ʴʴ Calculating God (2000 ), a novel written by Robert J. Sawyer. The character Hollus, an alien whose species calls themselves the Forhilnor, is from the fictional third planet in the Beta Hydri system, Beta Hydri III. ʴʴ Stellvia (2003 ), an anime television series written by Ichirō Ōkouchi. Ir is devastated by a powerful electromagnetic pulse caused when a nearby star, “Hydrus Beta”, goes supernova. This fictional star is loosely based on Beta Hydri; it is 20 light-years away from the Earth, compared to 24.4 light-years for the real star. ʴʴ Old Twentieth (2005 ), a novel by Joe Haldeman. The novel is set in a generation ship destined for Beta Hydri. ʴʴ Seed (2006), MMORPG developed by Runestone Game Development. The first of five interstellar seed ships that will terraform and then colonize extrasolar planets is dispatched to a planet of Beta Hydri that has an atmosphere, water and living microorganisms. But 25

when the colonists awake from suspension, they find that the planet has not been terraformed. ʴʴ The Marann (2013 ), a PRISM award-winning novel

by Christie Meierz. The novel is set on the fictional fourth planet in the Beta Hydri system, called Tolar by its inhabitants. A somewhat “King and I” story, in which a schoolteacher is sent from Earth to tutor the daughter of the planet’s ruler. First novel of a series.

BETA LIBRAE (Zubeneschamali)

ʴʴ The Golden Helix (1979 ), collection of short stories

by Theodore Sturgeon. The title story “The Golden Helix” is set on a planet circling Beta Librae. ʴʴ Star Control II (1992 ), computer game developed by Toys for Bob and published by Accolade. The Supox Utricularia come from Beta Librae I. They call the star “Root” and the planet “Vlik”, which means “Perfectly Good and Nutritious Dirt” (although their ships’ translation translated it as “Earth”, causing some confusion).

BETA TAURI (El Nath)

ʴʴ“The Galileo Seven” (1967 ), episode of Star Trek: The Original Series written by Oliver Crawford and S. Bar-David. Mr. Spock and other crew members of the USS Enterprise are exploring the Murasaki 312 phenomenon in the #7 shuttlecraft. Soon after launch, the shuttle is pulled off course and out of the Enterprise’s sensor range.

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BETA VIRGINIS Ę´Ę´ Tau Zero (1970 ), novel by Poul Anderson. The novel follows the crew of the starship Leonora Christine, a colonization vessel crewed by 25 men and 25 women aiming to reach Beta Virginis III, which an instrumented probe has pronounced habitable. Powered by a Bussard ramjet, the ship malfunctions and ends up going faster and faster, ever approaching the speed of light. Presently the crew must face the fact that, due to relativistic time contraction, they have long outlived the rest of humanity.44

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C

CANOPUS (Alpha Carinae)

ʴʴ The Star Kings (1947 ), novel by Edmond Hamilton.

Canopus is a capital of the Middle Galactic Empire. ʴʴ Star Bridge (1955 ), novel by James Gunn and Jack Williamson. The scattered planets are held together by the Eron Company, holder—at least apparently—of the secret of faster-than-light travel through the Tubes.

The Tubes are powered by drawing energy from Canopus. ʴʴ The Stars My Destination (1956 ), classic science fiction novel (titled Tiger! Tiger! in the UK) written by Alfred Bester. After his apotheosis in the burning cathedral, the legendary Gully Foyle teleports stark naked to the vicinity of several stars, including Canopus. 27 28 ʴʴ Dune (1965 ) and other novels in the Dune universe

by Frank Herbert. The third planet from Canopus is the desert planet Arrakis (Dune), the only source of the “melange spice”, the most important and valuable substance in the universe. As Dune it is the most famous planet of the franchise.14 Arrakis, with its giant sandworms, its Bedouin-like human inhabitants and its overall concern with ecological themes, is possibly the most convincing planetary environment created by any science fiction author.45 ʴʴ“The Ultimate Computer” (1968 ), episode of Star Trek: The Original Series written by D. C. Fontana The USS Enterprise visits the planet Alpha Carinae II. In the remastered version of the series (2008).

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ʴʴ“The Eye of the Beholder” (1974 ), episode 15 of Star Trek: The Animated Series written by David P. Harmon.

The Enterprise crew beams down to the planet Lactra VII to discover a series of unusual environments, including one constructed as a copy of the desert planet Canopus III (compare Canopus: Dune above). While exploring, the crew meets the Lactrans, a group of twenty foot slugs with intellectual capacities far beyond their own. The team is captured by the Lactrans to be made part of a zoo collection. ʴʴ Shikasta (1979 ), first novel in the Canopus in Argos series by literature Nobelist Doris Lessing. The series fictionally reinterprets the past history of the planet Shikasta (Earth) as playing out under the influence of three galactic empires: Canopus, Sirius, and their mutual enemy, Puttiora.

CAPELLA (Alpha Aurigae)

ʴʴ“Friday’s Child” (1967 ), episode of Star Trek: The Original Series written by D.C. Fontana. Action takes place on Capella IV.49 ʴʴ Emphyrio (1969 ), novel by Jack Vance. Capella is the home star of the planet Maastricht (Capella V ).

The sky of Maastricht is a rich, soft blue with the sun, Capella, surrounded by a zone of pale glimmer.50 Vance draws Maastricht, its landscape, and its people with an exotic palette and flashing actinic brightness: he is an influential creator of imaginary worlds. “The first fullfleged modern planetary romance is therefore probably Jack Vance’s ... [he] supplied sf writers with a model to exploit.” Vancian worlds provide a rich environment 29

together with off-world protagonists (In the case of Maastricht: Ghyl Tarvoke) whose need to travel across the planet provides a quest plot and a rationale for the lessons in anthropology and sociology so common to the form.4 Emphyrio is one of three novels showing Jack Vance’s talents at their fullest stretch.51 ʴʴ The Rowan (1990 ), novels by Anne McCaffrey. This is the lead-off novel of the second series of “Talent” books, which feature an inhabited world in the Capella system.

Major character Afra Lyon hails from there. ʴʴ Halo: Evolutions (2009 ), a collection of short-stories and poems from Tor Books. It contains a story called The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole, written by Eric Nylund.

CY AQUARII ʴʴ“Grendel” (1968 ), Known Space short story by Larry Niven published in the collection Neutron Star (1968).

Sometime hero and space pilot Beowulf Schaeffer witnesses the kidnapping for ransom of the famous Kdatlyno touch-sculptor Lloobee. The crime takes place on the packet Argos out of Down, bound for Gummidgy, a planet of the SX Phoenicis-type variable star CY Aquarii. The star’s strong ultraviolet light has driven the evolution of a teeming variety of life on the planet, from whose surface its pulsing sun looks like an “actinic pinpoint”, and “a tiny bright point of agony”.53 Schaeffer and his Jinxian companion pursue the kidnappers into the riotous jungles of Gummidgy, hoping to rescue the Kdatlyno.

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D

DELTA DRACONIS (Altais)

ʴʴ Star Control II (1992 ), computer game developed

by Toys for Bob and published by Accolade. Delta Draconis I is the homeworld of the Thraddash species.

DELTA PAVONIS ʴʴ Dune (1965 ) and other novels in the Dune universe

by Frank Herbert. Caladan, the third planet of Delta Pavonis, is the ancestral fiefdom of House Atreides, who have ruled it for twenty-six generations from the ancient Castle Caladan. An ocean planet, Caladan’s surface is predominantly covered with water.14 ʴʴ The Right Hand of Dextra (1977 ) and The Wildings of Westron (1977 ), novels by David Lake. The novels are set on the planet Dextra of the Delta Pavonis system, where the first human settlers arrive after a subluminal flight from a post-holocaust Earth. Upon arrival they find that the genetic chemistry of their new home is enantiomorphic to their own, so that the abundant plants and animals can provide them no nourishment. ʴʴ“The Big Broadcast of 2006” (1984–1988 ), episode of the television series The Transformers directed by John Gibbs. Delta Pavonis IV is the home of a race of humanoid cats. A malfunctioning hypnotic Quintesson 31

signal drives the cats to attack a neighbouring planet. ʴʴ On My Way to Paradise (1989 ), novel by Dave Wolverton. Protagonist Angelo Osic, on the run from a frightening world of war and politics, enlists as a legionnaire with the multistellar Motoki corporation.

Motoki has a military operation underway on the planet Baker of the Delta Pavonis system. The war grows complicated, with the legionnaires rebelling and seizing the Motoki city on Baker, then setting off across vast deserts to attack the rival Yabajin settlement. ʴʴ Frontier: Elite II (1993) and Frontier: First Encounters (1995 ), computer games written by David Braben et al. The Delta Pavonis system is home to a Federation world, a planet that, while it is habitable, is no Garden of Eden: its surface is completely covered. ʴʴ“The Suspended Fourth” (2000 ), short story by Paul Levinson, published in Analog Science Fiction and Fact Magazine, March 2000. Birds on the fictitious second planet of Delta Pavonis have been bred to sing certain kinds of songs to warn inhabitants of danger. ʴʴ Revelation Space Universe (2000 ), novels and stories

by Alastair Reynolds. The planet Resurgam and the neutron star Hades are part of the Delta Pavonis system. ʴʴ Calculating God (2000 ), novel written by Robert J. Sawyer. The alien race called the Wreeds are from a fictional planet in the Delta Pavonis system. ʴʴ Star Trek: Star Charts (2002 ),15 fictional reference book by Geoffrey Mandel. Delta Pavonis is orbited by the Federation planet Benzar, homeworld of the Benzites, a pisciform humanoid species. Benzites are highly resistant to poisons.They can digest and derive nutrition from almost any organic compound.

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E

EPSILON GRUIS ʴʴ Star Control II (1992 ), computer game developed

by Toys for Bob and published by Accolade. The Spathi call this star Yuffo, and hail from Epsilon Gruis I, which they call Spathiwa. Ever since Spathiwa was infested with creatures known only as Evil Ones, they have instead resided on its moon Epsilon Gruis I-A.

EPSILON INDI ʴʴ“And the Children Shall Lead” (1966), episode of Star Trek: The Original Series written by Edward J. Lakso.

Epsilon Indi is the home system of an evil energy being known as Gorgan. ʴʴ Protector (1973 ), Known Space novel written by Larry Niven. Home is one of Earth’s most distant colonies, the second planet of the star Epsilon Indi. The planet was so named by the colonists due to its remarkable similarity to Earth. Its day is nearly 24 hours long, its surface gravity is 1.08 g, and so on.56 ʴʴ Star Fleet Technical Manual (1975 ), fiction reference book by Franz Joseph Schnaubelt. Epsilon Indi’s “Star Empire” is one of the five founding signatories of the United Federation of Planets’ original Articles of Federation. The same book also places Andoria, homeworld to the Andorians, in this star system. This was a highly respected move and remembered forever.

33

ʴʴ“The Child” (1988 ), episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation written by Jon Povill Wesley Crusher describes Epsilon Indi while wistfully looking out the window of the show’s recreational area, Ten-Forward. (although Epsilon Indi, being a K-type main-sequence star, probably would not be visible from the Enterprise). ʴʴ Full Thrust (1991 ), miniatures war game written by Jon Tuffley and published by Ground Zero Games.

Epsilon Indi is one of the three star systems. ʴʴ Worldwar (1994 –1996), series of four novels by Harry Turtledove. “The Race” is an alien reptilian species that already controls two subject worlds, and that initiates a poorly-conceived invasion of the Earth during the years of our own second World War. The Race’s subject worlds, populated by similar reptilians, are Epsilon Eridani II and Epsilon Indi I, known as Rabotev 2 and Halless 1 to The Race. ʴʴ Space: Above and Beyond (1995 –1996 ), tv series created by Glen Morgan and James Wong. In early 2063, The Chigs declare war on humanity, launching what appears to be an unprovoked first-strike against the budding interstellar colonies of Vespa and Tellus.

The colonies are destroyed and their few survivors. ʴʴ Starplex (1996 ), novel by Robert Sawyer. “It had been like a gift from the gods: the discovery that the Milky Way galaxy was permeated by a vast network of artificial shortcuts that allowed for instantaneous journeys between star systems.” 57 The closest shortcut portals to the Earth are at Tau Ceti, and at New New York on Epsilon Indi III, a mere 11.2 light-years out. ʴʴ The Armies of Memory (2006 ), fourth in the series of four Thousand Cultures novels by John Barnes. In this novel Epsilon Indi is orbited by the planet Roosevelt, 34

home to 92 cultures, including Trois-Orléans.58 The same book also places Andoria, homeworld to the Andorians, in this star system. ʴʴ Halo: Contact Harvest (2007 ), novel set in the Halo universe and written by Joseph Staten. Humanity has spread across the galaxy, and the outer colony planet Harvest in the Epsilon Indi system is one of the most remote. Although Harvest itself is only one-third the size of Earth, its fertile surface serves as the breadbasket for other colonies. Harvest is the first human world attacked by the theocratic alliance of aliens known as the Covenant – which sets the basic conflict of the entire Halo series in motion.59

EPSILON PEGASI (Enif)

ʴʴ FreeSpace 2 ( 1999 ), combat simulation computer game designed by Dave Baranec et al., and published

by Volition, Inc. Epsilon Pegasi is the site of a major outpost of the Galactic Terran Vasudan Alliance and the location of Enif Station. The Rebellion of the NeoTerran Front threatens the Epsilon Pegasi system, and requires that Enif Station be reinforced.

EPSILON SCORPII ʴʴ Star Control II (1992), computer game developed

by Toys for Bob and published by Accolade. Epsilon Scorpii I is the homeworld of the Mycon, revered by them as the “Source of Juffo-Wup”. Ever since Spathiwa was infested with creatures known only as Evil Ones, they have instead resided on its moon Epsilon Gruis.

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ETA BOÖTIS (Mufrid)

ʴʴ Star Carrier: Earth Strike (2010 ), novel by William H. Keith, Jr. writing as Ian Douglas. The star is a binary system consisting of a yellow sun and an orbiting white dwarf, and has fourteen planets, the fourth of which, dubbed Al Haris al Sama, was colonized by an Islamic faction from Earth. It comes under attack by an alien race called the Turusch and a Terran Confederation battle group led by the eponymous carrier America is sent to evacuate the Marine base and as many colonists as possible. The battle group initially drives off the Turusch, but they return and destroy the colony with long-range mass driver strikes.

ETA CASSIOPEIAE (Achird)

ʴʴ Frontier: Elite II (1993) and Frontier: First Encounters (1995 ), computer games written by David Braben et al. The Eta Cassiopeiae system includes three trojan planets on one orbit. The Federation has its main naval base and fleet academies in this system. ʴʴ“Terra Nova” (2001 ), episode of Star Trek: Enterprise written by Rick Berman and Brannon Braga. The first extra-solar human colony was on the planet Terra Nova, located in the Eta Cassiopeiae system (referred to in the episode as Eta Cassiopeia III, with the Latin nominative instead of genitive case).

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F

FOMALHAUT (Alpha Piscis Austrini)

ʴʴ“The Trail of Cthulhu” (19 4 4 ), short story by August Derleth, and other stories of H. P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos. Fomalhaut is the home of the god Cthugha, who resembles a giant ball of fire. ʴʴ Pebble in the Sky (1950 ), novel by Isaac Asimov.

Joseph Schwartz of Chicago is transported by a stray beam of radiation to the Earth of the far future, which is part of a galactic empire ruled from the planet Trantor. Finding himself in a wild countryside, he searches far and wide for help until he stumbles upon a cottage only he can’t understand the dwellers, nor they him. One of them theorizes, “He must come from some far-off corner of the Galaxy. They say the men of Fomalhaut have to learn practically a new language to be understood at the Emperor’s court on Trantor.”61 Asimov would later substantially abandon using any real star names at all in the empire.62 ʴʴ Dorsai! (1960 ), first novel (also published as The Genetic General) in the unfinished Childe Cycle by Gordon R. Dickson. Dorsai (Fomalhaut III) is the homeworld of the Dorsai who, inhabiting a resourcepoor world, hire themselves out as mercenaries to other planetary governments. The novel follows the meteoric military career of the Dorsai protagonist and warrior extraordinaire, Donal Graeme. ʴʴ Return from the Stars (1961 ), Polish language novel 37

(Powrót z gwiazd) by Stanislaw Lem. The novel tells the story of the astronaut Hal Bregg, who returns to Earth after a 127-year mission to Fomalhaut. Due to time dilation the mission has lasted only 10 years for him, but on Earth he faces culture shock as he finds human society transformed into a utopia free of wars forever. ʴʴ Star King (1964 ), “Demon Princes” novel by Jack Vance. Over drinks, protagonist Kirth Gersen is explaining to lovely Pallis Atwrode the origin of the humanoid race of Star Kings. One theory has it that the same vanished race who “left ruins on the Fomalhaut planets” kidnapped a tribe of Neanderthals long ago and removed them to the Star Kings’ homeworld Ghnarumen, there to serve as an experimental evolutionary template for the highly adaptable but still rudimentary native life forms.63 ʴʴ“The Dead Lady of Clown Town” (1964), short story

by Cordwainer Smith. The planet Fomalhaut III is the site of the martyrdom of D’Joan (D’ indicating an underperson derived from Dog stock, while simultaneously alluding to Joan of Arc ), an event that “makes the worlds reel”: It sparks an interstellar civil rights movement across the planets governed by the Instrumentality of Mankind.65 Although broadly right-wing in his politics, Cordwainer Smith was deeply sympathetic to the liberation struggles of his fictional underpeople, as indeed he was with the American Civil Rights.66 ʴʴ Diaspora (1997 ), novel by Greg Egan. The Diaspora in the novel consists of a collection of one thousand exact digital copies of the CZ polis (city state), deployed toward stars in all directions hoping to improve humankind’s understanding of the physics behind an unpredicted gamma ray burst that wiped out most of Earth’s inhabitants.

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Ę´Ę´ Independence War 2: Edge of Chaos (2001), video game developed by Particle Systems and published by Infogrames. Fomalhaut has been colonized by humans and is the first accessible star system in the Gagarin cluster, by virtue of possessing a jump accelerator linked to Santa Romera in the Badlands cluster. It is also, therefore, the best-defended star system and last to fall against the alien invasion.

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G

GAMMA DRACONIS (Etamin / Eltanin)

ʴʴ Planet of Exile (1966 ), novel by Ursula K. Le Guin.

This novel takes place on Werel, the third planet of Gamma Draconis. It is also known as Alterra. The planet has an orbital period of 60 Earth years, and is approaching its correspondingly long winter. The main characters belong to one of two major groups: the Tevarans, a tribe of humanoid extraterrestrials indigenous to the planet, and a dwindling colony of Earth humans who detest them, marooned on the planet in their stone city Landin.68 Alterra’s prodigously extended seasons afford Le Guin ample scope to pursue her favorite narrative theme: a man is set in an alien world; he must pursue a frozen winter quest until he makes a conceptual breakthrough; he then becomes an agent of reconciliation between former antagonists.69 ʴʴ The Last Castle (1966 ), novella by Jack Vance.

Etamin IX (Etamin being one of the traditional names for Gamma Draconis) is the planet of origin of both the Meks and the power-wagons, two of the species who are servants to aristocratic humanity.70 ʴʴ Master of Orion II (1996 ), strategy game developed

by Simtex and published by MicroProse/MacSoft Games. Gamma Draconis is the Elerian home system. ʴʴ FreeSpace 2 (1999 ), combat simulation computer game designed by Dave Baranec et al., and published

by Volition, Inc. Despite being an unpopulated system, 40

Gamma Draconis plays a central role in the Galactic Terran Vasudan Alliance’s second war against the xenophobic Shivans. It is the location of the first Knossos Device (a subspace portal designed by the Ancients) discovered by humanity, in the year 2367. The remote node of the portal is located in the Nebula, remnant of the supernova that destroyed the Ancients’ civilization.

GAMMA LEPORIS ʴʴ Star Trek (1966 ), Gamma Leporis is the home star of the unnamed Lorillian homeworld. Gamma Leporis is one the six star systems in the Star Trader board game (1982 ) set in SPI’s Universe role-playing game. The others are Beta Hydri, Epsilon Eridani, Mu Herculis, Sigma Draconis, and Tau Ceti.

GAMMA ORIONIS (Bellatrix)

ʴʴ Babel-17 (1966 ), novel by Samuel R. Delany.

Bellatrix is the star system of the Alliance War Yards at Armsedge, where Rydra Wong witnesses a berserker attack by an Invader agent controlled by the weapon/ language Babel-17.71 The author’s vividly kaleidoscopic descriptions of Armsedge, and the fateful banquet set-piece where the assassin runs amok, are instances of recurring themes in Delany’s work: the quest (here, to decode and disarm Babel-17), a damaged protagonist (Wong), and an economical use of colorful detail to flesh out the social background of his stories (the remarkable Armsedge itself ).72 Presumably the planet’s name “Armsedge” derives from Bellatrix’ (Gamma 41

Orionis’) situation at the outer edge of the Orion arm of the Milky Way galaxy, with an additional war-yard play on the word arms. ʴʴ Planet of the Apes (1968 ), film written by Michael Wilson and Rod Serling, and directed by Franklin J. Schaffner. Three astronauts have landed on an unknown world: Commander George Taylor (Charlton Heston) states, “We’re some 320 light years from Earth on an unnamed planet in orbit around a star in the constellation of Orion.” 73 The crew speculates that they may be stranded in the Bellatrix system. ʴʴ Blade Runner (1982 ), film written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples and directed by Ridley Scott, loosely based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick. Betelgeuse is the right shoulder, and Bellatrix is the left shoulder of the constellation Orion. In his “Tears in the rain” soliloquy, the dying replicant Roy Batty, tells of “attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion”.

GAMMA SERPENTIS ʴʴ Star Control II (1992 ), computer game developed

by Toys for Bob and published by Accolade. Gamma Serpentis I is the homeworld of the Yehat, home to the High Perch of Caer Zeep-Reep, from which the VeepNeep Queen rules the Yehat Clans. During the course of the game, the player can start a civil war by convincing the Starship Clans that the Queen’s decision to join the Ur-Quan hierarchy was dishonorable, causing them to rebel against the Homeworld Clans. Due to time dilation the mission has lasted only 10 years for him, but on Earth he faces culture shock as he finds human.

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GAMMA TRIANGULI ʴʴ“The Apple” (1967 ), episode of Star Trek: The Original Series written by Max Ehrlich and directed

by Joseph Pevney. The planet Gamma Trianguli VI is visited by the USS Enterprise; at first blush it appears to be a tropical paradise, but it is an elaborate illusion held in place by an entity—perhaps an artificial intelligence left behind by an ancient alien race—worshipped by the local primitives as Vaal. Vaal opens a double pronged attack on the crew of the Enterprise, ambushing the survey team on the ground with assaults by poisonous plants and lightning bolts from the blue, and at the same time draining energy from the ship and pulling it down with a tractor beam. The surviving planetside crew counterattack and destroy Vaal with phasers, leaving the native populace sadder but wiser, having been force-fed the eponymous apple of knowledge of good and evil.74

GLIESE CATALOG OF STARS The Gliese stars in this list (but not all stars in the Gliese catalog ) are red dwarfs, and they are among the closest stars to the Solar System.

They were catalogued beginning in 1957 by the German astronomer Wilhelm Gliese. The stars listed below, despite their faint magnitudes, 43

have attracted the attention of authors interested in fiction depicting the earliest stages of humanity’s expansion into the galaxy. At least one of the Gliese stars has been confirmed to possess multiple extrasolar planets as of 2013. A number of stars in this list that are listed under other names also possess Gliese designations; they may be found by searching on “Gliese”.

GLIESE 754 ʴʴ Murasaki (1992 ), shared universe novel written by several Nebula Award winners and edited by Robert Silverberg. The scenery is set in a fictional double planet system with Genji and Chujo orbiting Gliese 754 about 20 light-years from our Solar System. The system was first explored by a Japanese robot probe, and the star has been given the proper name Murasaki.

GLIESE 876 (Ross 780)

ʴʴ Building Harlequin’s Moon (2005 ), novel by Larry Niven and Brenda Cooper. A group of space travellers, marooned in the inhospitable planetary system of Gliese 876, attempt to terraform a moon of the gas giant Harlequin, aiming to create over a span of many generations a sufficient technological base to refuel their ship and press on to their original destination.

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GROOMBRIDGE 34 ʴʴ Downbelow Station (1981 ) and other Alliance-Union universe works, novels by C. J. Cherryh. Groombridge 34 is the location of a minor space station in the so-called “Hinder Stars”: Olympus Station. ʴʴ Frontier: Elite II (1993 ) and Frontier: First Encounters (1995 ), computer games written by David Braben The crowded Groombridge 34 stellar system has three stars, multiple gas giants and numerous terrestrial planets. It is also heavily developed, with a large number of colonies and space stations. ʴʴ Macross Plus (1994 ), original video animation and anime film written by Keiko Nobumoto and directed by Shōji Kawamori and Shinichirō Watanabe.

Groombridge 34 is a possible location of the fictitious “Groombridge 1816 ” (Helios) system, stated to be 11.7 light-years 76 from the Solar System, about the same as the actual distance to Groombridge 34. The planet Eden in the fictional 1816 system is the location of the New Edwards Test Flight Center 77 and its major metropolis, Eden City. The name Groombridge 1816 may be an alteration of the name of the actual although unrelated star Groombridge 1618. ʴʴ“Pilot, Part 1” and “Mutiny” (1995 ), first and fourth episodes of Space: Above and Beyond. Groombridge 34 is the location of the largest fleet base, mistakenly believed to be the target of a massive attack by the alien Chigs, and seen under sniper fire in the film. ʴʴ Halo (2001 ), video game franchise created by Bungie and published by Microsoft Game Studios. The 34 45

system is the location of a decommissioned construction platform. In 2531, a group of Spartan-IIs are sent to investigate rebel activity at the platform. 78 One of the Spartans, Kurt-051, is declared MIA, when the entire mission was a setup created by ONI’s Beta-5 Division to recruit Kurt as an instructor. 79

GROOMBRIDGE 1618 ʴʴ Mindbridge (1976 ), novel by Joe Haldeman. A planet orbiting Groombridge 1618 is the homeworld of the psi-amplifying Groombridge Bridge. It is accessible from the Earth (less than 16 light-years away), using the instantaneous space transport mechanism called the Levant-Meyer Translation. ʴʴ Frontier: Elite II (1993 ) and Frontier: First Encounters (1995 ), computer games written by David Braben et al. The Groombridge 1618 planetary system can be visited in the Frontier series, but is uninhabited. ʴʴ“The Heroic Myth of Lt. Nora Argamentine” (1994 ), short story written by Donald Kingsbury as a contribution to the Known Space universe created by Larry Niven. The colony planet W’kkai of the Kzin Empire orbits this star. In the story the star is referred to as “Gliese 380”, another of its designations. ʴʴ Calculating God (2000 ), novel by Robert J. Sawyer.

Virtual beings from a planet orbiting Groombridge 1618 engineer the supernova of Betelgeuse to sterilize the stellar neighborhood. The event threatens the survival of humanity, as well as that of two recently allied extraterrestrial races, the Wreeds and the Forhilnors.

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H

HD 69830 ʴʴ In the Halo fictional universe, the Jackal homeworld is stated to be a hypothetical moon of the third planet in the HD 69830 system. The planet itself is a Neptune gas giant, but the Jackals (Kig-Yar) evolved on a (fictional but hypothetically possible) moon of the gas giant, known as Eayn.

HOROLOGII IOTA (Gliese 108)

ʴʴ Halo (2001 ), video game franchise created by Bungie and published by Microsoft Game Studios. Iota Horologii was believed to be the star referred to in the game series as Soell, which is orbited by Threshold, Basis, and the eponymous Installation 04.80 ʴʴ Iota Cycle (2006 ), novel by Russell Lutz. The Iota Horologii system is a setting for colonization and terraforming. In order of increasing orbital radius its six planets are named Australia, Asia, Europe, Africa, America, and Antarctica.

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I

IZAR (EPSILON BOÖTIS) ʴʴ“Whom Gods Destroy” (1969 ), episode of Star Trek: The Original Series written by Lee Erwin from a story

by Lee Erwin and Jerry Sohl. The crew of the starship Enterprise arrives at the planet Elba II, an inhospitable world known for its poisonous atmosphere and underground asylum for the criminally insane. When they attempt to meet facility director Donald Cory, they discover that he is being impersonated by the now crazed Fleet Captain Garth of Izar, a famous starship captain and one of Kirk’s personal heroes. ʴʴ Space Probe Epsilon (1974 ), German language novel (Raumsonde Epsilon) by Mark Brandis. This novel extrapolates the theory propounded by Duncan Lunan in 1973 that there was a space probe orbiting around the Moon, sent there by inhabitants of a planet in the Epsilon Boötis system.

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K

KAPPA CORONAE BOREALIS ʴʴ In Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space (episode “The Forsaken”), according to the star chart United Federation of Planets I, the Dopterians (an unscrupulous humanoid species found throughout the Alpha Quadrant) were from the Dopteria (Kappa Coronae Borealis) system. This system was located in the Alpha Quadrant.83

KAPTEYN’S STAR ʴʴ Frontier: Elite II (1993 ) and Frontier: First Encounters (1995 ), computer games written by David Braben et al. The Kapteyn’s planetary system can be visited in the Frontier series, but it is uninhabited. ʴʴ Fallen Gods (2003 ), novella written by Jonathan Blum and Kate Orman based on the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Kapteyn’s Star is the sun of a planetary system whose planets are home to several dozen sentient species. This richness enables the intelligent and complex plotting that is a hallmark of the series, as well as its many spin-off novellas, novels, encyclopedias and scholarly articles.84 ʴʴ Singularity (2012 ), novel written by William H. Keith, Jr. as by Ian Douglas. Studies of the proper motion of Kapteyn’s star, and its composition, suggest 49

that it comes from the Omega Centauri globular cluster, which in turn is so anomalous among clusters—having an atypical stellar population and high metallicity— that it is thought to be the stripped core of a dwarf satellite galaxy captured a hundreds of millions of years ago by the Milky Way. The Kapteyn’s system contains the gas-giant Bifrost, whose arid and ruin-haunted moon Heimdall, with planetary scale computers nanoetched into its stones, appears to have been the home of a billion-year old extragalactic super-civilization.[85] ʴʴ Sad Kapteyn (2014 ), short story by Alastair Reynolds, published after the announced discovery of a planetary system around Kapteyn’s Star.

KRUGER 60 (DO Cephei)

ʴʴ Downbelow Station (1981 ) and other AllianceUnion universe works, novels by C. J. Cherryh. Kruger 60 is the site of Venture Station, one of the stations on the “Great Circle” chain of space stations that terminates at Pell Station in the Tau Ceti system.

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L

LACAILLE 9352 ʴʴ Revelation Space (2000 ), novels and stories by Alastair Reynolds. Lacaille 9352 is the sun to the planet Fand, home of the Fand screech mat. ʴʴ Shadeward Saga Universe (2015 ), novels and stories

by Drew Wagar. Lacaille 9352 is the sun to the tidally locked planet Esurio.

LALANDE 21185 Lalande 21185 is a red dwarf of apparent magnitude 7 and is thus too dim to be seen with the unaided eye. However, at approximately 8.3 light-years away it is the fifth closest stellar system to the Sun; only the Alpha Centauri system, Barnard’s Star, Luhman 16 and Wolf 359 are known to be closer. thus the star has attracted the attention of science fiction authors and game developers. A number of claims have been made for the discovery by astrometry of one or more extrasolar planets in the Lalande 21185.

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On the planet of the star Lalande 21185 known to Terrans as Ormazd, the dominant humanoid species is organized into hive societies much like those of Earth’s ants and bees. These societies are inadvertently but inevitably undermined and transformed by contact with Terrans. ʴʴ Lalande 21185 (1966 ), Polish language novel by Janusz Zajdel. Zajdel’s dystopian themes of totalitarian states and collapsed societies are explored in the system. ʴʴ Star Light (1971 ), novel by Hal Clement. The story takes place on the supergiant planet Dhrawn, which some suspect of being a failed star, in orbit around Lalande 21185. The gravity at the surface is 40 times the Earth’s, and a Dhrawn day lasts 1500 Earth hours.

A consortium of spacefaring races, including humans, recruits Mesklinites, the centipede-like natives of the high-gravity planet Mesklin, to explore Dhrawn.86 ʴʴ Across the Sea of Suns (1984 ), novel in the Galactic Center Saga by Gregory Benford. Radio astronomy on the Moon in 2021 reveals the presence of life in the system of nearby red dwarf star Lalande 21185, on the tidally locked planet Isi. An expedition is dispatched which discovers a primitive race of alien nomads broadcasting en-masse with organs adapted to emit and receive electromagnetic radiation. The biotic basis of the transmissions is emblematic of Benford’s vision in his “water-themed” novels of a Universe-wide struggle between organic lifeforms and machines. 87 ʴʴ Civilization II: Test of Time (1999 ), strategy game 52

developed by MicroProse and published by Hasbro Interactive. Humans and an alien species both crashland on the earthlike second planet of Lalande 21185, Funestis. The object of play is to get back to Earth.

Other planets in this system include rocky Naumachia and the gas giant Nona. ʴʴ Revelation Space Universe (2000 ), novels and stories

by Alastair Reynolds. Lacaille 21185 is the sun of the planet Zion. Little is known of this planet, save the fact that contact with it was lost during the war. ʴʴ Escape Velocity Nova (2002 ), computer game developed and published by Ambrosia Software. Lalande 21185 is an important crossroads, and features the minor planet Diva. ʴʴ Star Corps (2006 ), first novel in the Legacy Trilogy

by Ian Douglas. The gas giant plant Marduk in orbit around Lalande 21185 has the earthlike moon Ishtar, where the alien race of Froggers holds humans in slavery, resulting in a force of US Marines being sent in 214 8 to free them.

LALANDE 46650 ʴʴ Cyteen (1988 ) and Regenesis (2009 ), novels in the Alliance-Union universe by C. J. Cherryh. Lalande 46650 is the star system containing the planet Cyteen as well as a space station with the same name. Cyteen is the home planet of the ruthless, expansionist Union, and Cherryh limns its intricacies with plays on genetics, identity, family, and power. These novels go against type for her in that they are planet-centric rather than being set in artificial environments in space. They can also be seen to represent a shift from themes of honor 53

(typical of preliterate “shame” cultures) to the responsibility of power (a problem central to literate “guilt” cultures). 88

LAMBDA SCORPII (Shaula)

ʴʴ The Transformers (2005 ), comic book series written by Simon Furman et al. for IDW Publishing. Cybertron is the homeworld of the Transformers in the various fictional incarnations of the Transformer metaseries.

LAMBDA SERPENTIS ʴʴ The Big Hunger, a short story by Walter M Miller, surrounds the first extrasolar planet colonized by men. ʴʴ Blue Planet (1997, 2000 ), two releases of a pencil-and-paper role playing game designed by Jeff Barber, and published by Biohazard Games and Fantasy Flight Games. Just before a worldwide ecological catastrophe devastates the Earth, space explorers discover that Lambda Serpentis II is a habitable ocean planet; they give it the name Poseidon. One major colony ship is sent before civilization collapses on Earth. ʴʴ Halo (2001 ), video game franchise created by Bungie and published by Microsoft Game Studios. The Lambda Serpentis system is home to the human colony planet Jericho VII. 89 90

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M

MAIA (20 Tauri)

ʴʴ Operation Bororo (1973 ), Czechoslovak science fiction film written by I. Drahnovská and directed by Otakar Fuka. A man and a woman (Ori-Ana) from a planet orbiting Maia come to the Earth to get a cure for a disease that threatens to eradicate their civilization, a drug made only by the Amazonian Bororo people.

MARKAB Kappa Velorum

ʴʴ Babylon 5 (1993 –1998 ), television series developed and written by J. Michael Straczynski. The Markab species from this star became largely extinct in 2259 due to the Drafa Plague. They were members of the League of Non-Aligned Worlds. There may still be some isolated colonies or outposts, but for all intents and purposes the Markab are a dead race.

MINTAKA (Delta Orionis)

ʴʴ Cluster (1977–1982 ), series of novels written by Piers Anthony. Mintaka, like the Earth (“Sol”) is the center of a galactic sphere of influence. Melody of Mintaka, a direct descendant of Flint of Outworld and 55

his Andromedan nemesis, is a major character in the second and third books of the series. ʴʴ“Who Watches the Watchers” (1989 ), episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation written by Richard Manning and Hans Beimler. Mintaka III is inhabited by the Mintakans, a preindustrial Vulcan-like race that is under observation by the Federation. ʴʴ Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean (2003 ), video game developed by tri-Crescendo and Monolith Soft and published by Namco. Mintaka is the capital of the Alfard Empire. ʴʴ Baten Kaitos Origins (2006 ), video game developed by tri-Crescendo and Monolith Soft and published by Nintendo. Mintaka is the capital of the Alfard Empire.

MIRA Mira is a binary star system that consists of a red giant (Mira A) losing mass to its partner, the high temperature white dwarf companion (Mira B) steadily accreting substance from the primary. Mira A, a variable star, would actually be a poor candidate for the home sun of any of the “habitable” planets described below, since its brightness fluctuates over the long run by a total factor of around 1700, with each individual cycle lasting about 300 days. In 2007, observations showed a protoplanetary disc around the companion, Mira B. This disc is 56

being accreted from material in the solar wind and could eventually form new planets. ʴʴ The War against the Rull (1959 ), fixup assembled

by A. E. van Vogt. Protagonist Trevor Jamieson, chief scientist of the Interstellar Military Commission, is instantly hypnotized when he inadvertently glances at an intricate mandala inscribed with fine scratches in the enamel of his air car. The astonishingly savage jungle in which the protagonist finds himself is a favored planetary setting of the author, and the second jungle world encountered in the novel forever.94 ʴʴ“This Side of Paradise” (196 7 ), episode of Star Trek: The Original Series written by D. C. Fontana. The Enterprise arrives at Omicron Ceti III, the site of a colony all of whose inhabitants are believed to have been killed by Berthold rays. The crew is surprised to find the original colonists blissfully alive although behaving somewhat oddly, and grew suspicious of his activities.95 ʴʴ“Conspiracy” (1988 ), episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation written by Tracy Tormé. The Enterprise secretly meets three other Federation starships above Dytallix B, the fifth planet of Mira and a tidally locked mining world that has long been abandoned. On the surface, Captain Picard meets with the captains of the other ships to discuss a suspected conspiracy and infiltration of Starfleet Command. ʴʴ Operation Bororo (1973 ), Czechoslovak science fiction film written by I. Drahnovská and directed by Otakar Fuka, it is consisdered a classic.There may still be some isolated colonies or outposts, but for all intents and purposes the Markab are a dead race.

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MIZAR

(Zeta Ursae Majoris)

ʴʴ Way Station (1963 ), novel by Clifford D. Simak. In the aftermath of the Civil War, protagonist Enoch Wallace is the secretly designated administrator of a way station for interstellar travel. He uses a mathematical model developed on Mizar96 to predict that the Earth will someday go to war and destroy itself. ʴʴ Star King (1964 ), “Demon Princes” novel by Jack Vance. Mizar VI is home to the Tunkers, a religious sect who are “ascetic, austere, devout to an astonishing degree. The men and women dress identically, shave their heads, use a language of eight hundred and twelve words, and eat identical meals at identical hours...”97 ʴʴ“On the Sand Planet” (1965 ), third novella in the collection Quest of the Three Worlds (1966) by Cordwainer Smith. The desert planet Mizzer, home of the Twelve Niles, is the last planet on protagonist Casher O’Neill’s quest.98 ʴʴ BattleTech (1984 ), wargame and related products launched by The FASA Corporation. The Mizar system hosts a habitable planet noted for its luxurious resorts and vain inhabitants. ʴʴ Enigma (1986 ) and Empery (1987 ), second and third installments of The Trigon Disunity series of novels by Michael P. Kube-McDowell. The Mizar system is home to powerful, xenophobic aliens physically integrated into the geology of their planets. They react to threats with massive blasts of psychic energy, which they direct on occasion against the inhabited worlds.

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ʴʴ“Allegiance” (1990 ), episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation written by Richard Manning and Hans Beimler. Captain Picard, while sleeping in his quarters, is abducted by an unknown device. He awakes in a cell with three other prisoners including the philosopher Kovar Tholl from Mizar II. The residents of Mizar II are green humanoids who are committed pacifists. ʴʴ Frontier: Elite II (1993) and Frontier: First Encounters (1995 ), computer games written by David Braben et al. The Mizar planetary system can be visited in the Frontier series, but it is uninhabited. ʴʴ Forever Free (1999 ), novel written by Joe Haldeman as a sequel to The Forever War. Mizar is the home sun of the planet Middle Finger. Middle Finger is the coventry planet where the surviving veterans of the Forever War are sent when they discover that the war is over. ʴʴ“The Heart of the Star”, chapter of The Sandman: Endless Nights (2003), a graphic novel written by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Miguelanxo Prado.

The story features a meeting of anthropomorphic stars, including a star with blue light named Mizar. ʴʴ In the Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal anime, one of the Seven Barian Emperors is named Mizar..

MU CAPRICORNI ʴʴ In Star Trek: The Motion Picture, according the Star Trek: Star Charts, on the star chart United Federation of Planets I, Zaran (Mu Capricorni) was the name of a star in the Alpha Quadrant and it was homeland of Zaranite (a humanoid species known to the Federation during the mid-23rd century). The primary was a Class 59

F star. Magnitude of this star was +5, which was the same brightness as Sol. This was a Federation system, with at least one planet being an affiliate.99

MU CASSIOPEIAE ʴʴ Emprise (1985 ), first installment of the Trigon Disunity series of novels by Michael P. Kube-McDowell.

In a Luddite world, outcast astronomer Allen Chandliss struggles to maintain his primitive radio telescope, listening in secret for signs of intelligent life. After 17 years, he detects a repeating signal from an “alien intelligence” in Cassiopeia. The second novel of the series (Enigma) reveals that the “aliens” are actually human colonists residing on the planet Journal of Mu Cassiopeiae—out of touch with the Earth for the last 50,000 years.

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N

NU OPHIUCHI (Sinistra)

ʴʴ Tékumel (19 40 ), novels and games by M. A. R. Barker. Nu Ophiuchi is the primary (Tuleng) of the planetary system that includes the planet Tékumel (also called Nu Ophiuchi d and Sinistra d). Tékumel is first settled by humans and several other alien species about 60,000 years in the future. Extensive terraforming of the planet’s inhospitable environment, including changing its orbit and rotation to create a 365 day year, disrupts planetary ecologies and banishes most of the local flora and fauna (including some intelligent species) to small reservations in the corners of their own world, resulting in a golden age of technology and prosperity for humankind and its allies. Naturally enough, this halcyon era cannot last.

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O

OMICRON PERSEI (Al Atik)

ʴʴ Futurama (1999 ), animated science fiction situation comedy created by Matt Groening. The “Omicronians” claim to be from Omicron Persei VIII, more than 1000 light-years from Earth. Living in the 31st century, the Omicronians receive and are fans of 20th-century broadcasts from the Earth.

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P

PHECDA

(Gamma Ursae Majoris)

ʴʴ Frontier: Elite II (1993 ) computer game written by David Braben. The star Phecda appears in the northern territories. It is a notoriously dangerous system. ʴʴ In the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game Phecda is represented in the card, Fire Formation. ʴʴ Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2. Phecda is represented as part of a group of extraterrestrial beings known as the Septentriones in the game as a boss.

PHI OPHIUCHI (8 Ophiuchi)

ʴʴ The Palace of Love (196 7 ), novel by Jack Vance.

Sarkovy, the single planet of this obscure star, is moist and cloudy; with an axis normal to the orbital plane, it knows no seasons. The surface lacks physiographical contrast; the characteristic features of the landscape are vast steppes across which nomads wander in their tall-wheeled wagons. From the abundant flora the notorious Sarkoy venefices (poison masters) leach and distill the poisons for which they are famous across the galaxy.100 Vance draws the Sarkoy world and its people with a peculiar richness and melancholy élan: he is an influential creator of imaginary worlds. “The first fullfleged modern planetary romance is therefore probably 63

Jack Vance’s.” Vancian worlds provide a rich environment together with off-world protagonists (In the case of Sarkovy: Kirth Gersen) whose need to travel across the planet provides a quest plot and a rationale for the lessons in anthropology and sociology so common to the form.4 But a well-known hallmark of Vance’s style, and one which helps create his intense sense of place.51

PHI ORIONIS (φ1 or φ2)

ʴʴ Space Opera (196 5 ), novel by Jack Vance. Home star of the planet Zade (Phi Orionis II), where the crew of the Phoebus performs Rossini’s Barber of Seville. Vance does not specify whether the star is φ1 or φ2, which are far apart on the direct line from Earth.101

POLARIS

(Alpha Ursae Minoris)

ʴʴ Flash Comics (1940 ), comic books in the DC Comics universe. Thanagar is a planet in the Polaris star system (sometimes the “Polaris Galaxy”) that is the original home of the humanoid Thanagarian race, noted for the discovery of gravity-defying Nth metal.

Thanagar is the home of the “Silver Age” version of Hawkman, who is able to fly using prosthetic wings. ʴʴ Showcase #17 (1958 ), comic books in the DC Comics universe. Rann is a planet in the Polaris star system whose capital city is Ranagar. Rann is most famous for being the adopted planet of the Earth explorer and hero Adam Strange and for its teleportation device called the Zeta Beam.

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ʴʴ“Camera Bugged” (1989 ), episode #38 of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated television series, written by Michael and Mark Edens. The Polarisoids (a pun on Polaroid cameras) are the most obnoxious tourists. ʴʴ Frontier: Elite II (1993 ) and Frontier: First Encounters (1995 ), computer games written by David Braben et al. Polaris is a distant (434 light-years from Earth) uninhabited system comprising many planets. In First Encounters, the player to compete. ʴʴ Green Lantern (2007 ), comic books in the DC Comics universe. Odym is a planet in the Polaris star system that is home to the Blue Lantern Corps, one of seven corps empowered by a specific color of the emotional spectrum within the DC Universe. ʴʴ Super Mario Galaxy (2007 ), video game by Nintendo in the Super Mario series. The character “Polari” is named after the star.

POLLUX

(Beta Geminorum)

ʴʴ“Who Mourns for Adonais?” (19 67 ), episode of Star Trek: The Original Series written by Gilbert Ralston and Gene L. Coon. The starship Enterprise is approaching Pollux IV on a survey mission. Suddenly, a huge energy field in the shape of a glowing green hand materializes and seizes the Enterprise. An apparition who identifies himself as the god Apollo appears on the bridge and invites the crew down to the planet—an invitation they can’t refuse. ʴʴ Frontier: First Encounters (1995 ), computer game written by David Braben et al. Pollux has a single 65

permanent settlement, primarily engaged in mining and refining operations. its teleportation device called the Zeta Beam.

PROCYON

(Alpha Canis Minoris)

ʴʴ Tékumel (1940 ), novels and games by M. A. R. Barker.

Procyon is the home sun of the Pé Chói, or Listeners. ʴʴ Viagens Interplanetarias (1949 –1958; 1977–1992 ), series of novels and short stories written in two waves

by L. Sprague de Camp. The Procyon system has three inhabited planets: Osiris, an arid world whose saurian inhabitants are sentimental, rapaciously capitalistic, and capable of mind control; Isis, inhabited by a species resembling a cross between an elephant and a dachshund; and Thoth, a wet planet whose natives are amoral. ʴʴ Non-Stop (1958 ), novel by Brian Aldiss. A generation ship is returning from the newly colonized planet Procyon. Twenty-three generations ago, the ship suffered from a pandemic due to an alien amino acid in Procyon’s water. Shipboard civilization broke down during the crisis and the crew has since devolved into a collection of primitive tribes having no idea. ʴʴ Seed of Light (1959 ), novel by Edmund Cooper.

Commander Kepler of the starship Solarian has a prescient vision in which his crew visits a terrestrial planet orbiting Procyon in tidally locked rotation. They discover that the two cities in the planet’s twilight zone have ended a five-thousand year war by destroying each other in a nuclear holocaust.103 ʴʴ A Gift from Earth (1968 ), Known Space novel written by Larry Niven. We Made It, a planet in orbit 66

around Procyon A, got its name because the first colony ship there crash-landed (the natives are called “Crashlanders”). Gravity is about three-fifths that of Earth. The planet’s rotational axis is parallel to the plane of its orbit (like Uranus), contributing to hypervelocity 1500 mph winds during half the planet’s year that force the inhabitants to live underground.104 ʴʴ Escape Velocity Nova (2002 ), computer game developed and published by Ambrosia Software. The Procyon system begins the game uninhabited but is connected to four other systems. A minor mission string terraforms one of its planets into the world Nirvana, which subsequently becomes a major hub in Federation space where gathering occurs. ʴʴ Procyon’s Promise (1996 ) and Life Probe (2009 ), novels by Michael McCollum. The Procyon system is the home of an extraterrestrial civilization that has discovered the secret of faster-than-light travel. ʴʴ Star Trek: Star Charts (2002 ), fictional reference book by Geoffrey Mandel.105 ʴʴ Halo Wars (2009 ), video game set in the Halo universe, developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios. Part of the game is set on the planet Arcadia, a fictional world in the Procyon system. ʴʴ Starflight - The Lost Colony (2010 ), computer game in the Starflight universe developed and published by Electronic Arts.106 The planet Procya in the Procyon system is the homeworld of the Empire’s worst enemy, the Procyon Expanse. he surface lacks physiographical contrast. A minor mission string terraforms one of its planets into the world Nirvana the characteristic features of the landscape are vast steppes. Humanity tries to colonize a world to make it a better place.

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PROXIMA CENTAURI Proxima Centauri, possibly part of a triple star system with Alpha Centauri A and B, is the nearest known star to the Earth’s Solar System. Even though it is known to be a flare star, a disproportionate number of early fiction titles are dedicated to Proxima Centauri, as the destination of humanity’s first interstellar voyage. No claims have been made for the discovery of extrasolar planets in the Proxima Centauri system, although the possibility was explored in the 2005 television documentary Alien Worlds. ʴʴ Proxima Centauri (1935 ), short story by Murray Leinster. Earth’s first starship, the Adastra, navigates to Proxima Centauri. The star has two planets: Centauri I, homeworld of the Centaurians—mobile, carnivorous plants that look on the crew as a desirable food source (and eat most of them); and earthlike Centauri II, abandoned ages past by the Centaurians and ripe for human colonization, once the Centaurian homeworld can be destroyed. ʴʴ The Magellanic Cloud (1955 ), Polish language novel (Obłok Magellana) by Stanislaw Lem. Several hundred colonists leave the Earth in the Gaia, bound for the 68

Alpha Centauri system. They find signs of life on a barren marslike planet of Proxima Centauri, which lead them to an advanced civilization orbiting Centauri. ʴʴ Captive Universe (1969 ), novel by Harry Harrison.

Another generation ship story; this time the pre-technological culture that has forgotten its true provenance is Aztec, and the restless young man who discovers the truth is named Chimal. This novel provides an outstanding example of the use of myth in science fiction.32 ʴʴ Cerberus: The Proxima Centauri Campaign (1979 ), strategy board game designed by Stephen V. Cole and published by Task Force Games. Humanity tries to colonize a world in the Proxima Centauri system that is already inhabited by aliens from Tau Ceti. The game revolves around ground combat between the rival races.

Note that Proxima Centauri, at 4.24 light-years from Earth, is about 13.37 ly from Tau-Ceti, giving us the claim of proximity while leaving the right of prior possession to the Cetians.107 ʴʴ Frontier: Elite II (1993 ) and Frontier: First Encounters (1995 ), computer games written by David Braben et al. Players are able to visit Proxima Centauri and enter a space station in the Alpha Centauri system. ʴʴ Event Horizon (1997), film written by Philip Eisner and directed by Paul W. S. Anderson. A rescue vessel is dispatched to recover the Event Horizon, a starship that had disappeared seven years before, during its maiden voyage to Proxima Centauri.

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REGULUS (Alpha Leonis)

ʴʴ Tékumel (19 40 ), novels and games by M. A. R. Barker. Regulus is the home sun of the Vléshga, or Shunned/Stinking Ones. ʴʴ BattleTech (1984 ), wargame and related products launched by The FASA Corporation. Regulus is the capital system of the Duchy of Regulus, one of the founding states of the Free Worlds League. ʴʴ Frontier: Elite II (1993 ) and Frontier: First Encounters (1995 ), computer games written by David Braben et al. In the games, Regulus has no permanent settlements, although minor mining operations do occur within the Regulus system. ʴʴ Babylon 5 (1993 –1998 ), television series developed and written by J. Michael Straczynski. The Regulus system is the location of the Earth Alliance’s first colony. ʴʴ Descent: FreeSpace – The Great War (1998 ), computer game developed by Volition, Inc. and published

by Interplay Entertainment. Regulus is the greatest stronghold of the Neo-Terran Front during their rebellion against the Galactic Terran Vasudan Alliance. ʴʴ“Kir’Shara” (2004 ), episode of Star Trek: Enterprise written by Mike Sussman. Regulus is the staging area for a massive pre-emptive strike by the Vulcan High Command on Andoria, based on specious intelligence suggesting that the Andorian Imperial Command.

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ʴʴ“Fairy Tail” (2011 ) Celestial Spirit Leo the Lion’s attacks are based on the star, because it is the brightest star in the Leo constellation, all celestial spirits are based on. ʴʴ Harry Potter (1997-2007 ), fantasy novels written

by J. K. Rowling. Regulus Black was a Death Eater.

Members of the Black family were commonly named after stars.

ROSS CATALOG OF STARS The Ross stars in this list (but not all stars in the Ross catalog) are red dwarfs, and they are among the closest stars to the Solar System.

They were catalogued beginning in 1926 by the American astronomer Frank Elmore Ross, and some of them are still widely known by the catalog number he gave them (for one that is not, see Ross 780). The stars listed below, despite their faint magnitudes (all numerically greater than 10), have attracted the attention of authors and game developers interested in fiction depicting the earliest stages of humanity’s expansion into the galaxy. At least one of the Ross stars has been confirmed to possess multiple extrasolar planets as of 2013.

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ROSS 128 (FI Virginis)

ʴʴ Across the Sea of Suns (1984 ), novel in the Galactic Center Saga by Gregory Benford. Ross 128 is the home system of the Ganymede-like moon Pocks. An amphibious alien race hides under the moon’s ten-kilometer thick mantle of ice from a Berserker-like autonomous killing machine known as a Watcher, in orbit around Pocks. ʴʴ Enigma (1986 ), second installment of The Trigon Disunity series of novels by Michael P. Kube-McDowell.

Ross 128 is discovered to be the site of a long-abandoned colony of humans that was established 50,000 years in the past. ʴʴ Frontier: Elite II (1993 ) computer games written by David Braben et al. An inner planet of Ross 128 is the site of a prison colony. Game players cannot visit the system except by special permit. ʴʴ Descent: FreeSpace – The Great War (1998 ), computer game developed by Volition, Inc. and published

by Interplay Entertainment. The Ross 128 system is the location of the first known encounter between the Galactic Terran Vasudan Alliance and their antagonists. ʴʴ“Galactic North” (1999 ), short story by Alastair Reynolds, also published in the collection Galactic North (2006 ). The Ross 128 system is the source of an outbreak of self-replicating machines known as greenfly, which become a major threat to life in the galaxy and everything that they knew. ʴʴ The Procyon system begins the game uninhabited but 72

is connected to four other systems. A minor mission string terraforms one of its planets into the world Nirvana, which subsequently becomes a major hub in Federation space.

ROSS 154 (V1216 Sagittarii)

ʴʴ Downbelow Station (1981 ) and other AllianceUnion universe works, novels by C. J. Cherryh. Ross 154 is the site of Glory Station, one of the stations on the “Great Circle” chain of space stations that terminates at Pell Station in the Tau Ceti system. ʴʴ DOOM (1993), video game developed and published by id Software. In the original treatment of the game, designer Tom Hall wanted Doom to take place on the planet Tei Tenga of Ross 154, on which the UAAF (United Aerospace Armed Forces) had two military research bases. ʴʴ Terminal Velocity (1995 ), video game developed

by Terminal Reality and published by 3D Realms.

The planet Tei Tenga (taken from the early ideas for DOOM, as stated above) orbits this star. ʴʴ The Night’s Dawn Trilogy (1996–1999 ), novels by Peter F. Hamilton: In 2611 a “terracompatible” planet, Felicity, was found in its orbit in 2123; as of 2611, its multi-ethnic population still struggles to find racial harmony, one of the main themes on planetary colonization in this novel set. ʴʴ Orlenok, short story by Valentina Zhuravleva, first published in Russian in 1961. Aella, a colonized planet of Ross 154, is the aim of a rescue expedition. Ross 154 is the home system of “The Guardian”.

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ROSS 248 (HH Andromedae)

ʴʴ Rimrunners (1989 ) and other Alliance-Union universe works, novels by C. J. Cherryh. Ross 248 is the site of Thule, one of the stations on the “Great Circle” chain of space stations that terminates at Pell Station in the Tau Ceti system. ʴʴ“Glacial” (2001 ), novella by Alastair Reynolds, also published in the collection Galactic North (2006 ).

The ice planet Diadem orbits this star. The onetime location of a since-failed American colony, it is 100 years later explored by the Conjoiner faction as they flee from the war-torn Solar System. Diadem is a planetary sentient being that “thinks” using the transient chemical trails of ice-worms in its mantle much as the human brain uses electro-chemical impulses.

RUKBAT

(Alpha Sagittarii)

ʴʴ Dragonriders of Pern (1967– 2012 ), series of novels and short stories by Anne McCaffrey. Rukbat is the star around which orbits Pern, the focal planet of the series.

Higher life on Pern is derived from human civilization on Earth but includes dragons bio-engineered by the people of Pern to help protect the planet from Thread, a space-borne spore that originates within Rukbat’s solar system and voraciously consumes organic material.

(In a mischaracterization, possibly intentional by the author, Rukbat is described in the series as a class G yellow star whereas in reality it is a class B blue dwarf.)

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S

SHELIAK Among the star systems commonly appearing in science fiction, Beta Lyrae is the second most distant, even though as the beta of the constellation Lyra it has an appreciable apparent magnitude of 3.52. Only Delta Orionis in Orion’s belt and hyperluminous Deneb can compare. Why the attention? Beta Lyrae is an eclipsing binary system in which mass is being transferred from the brighter primary to the more massive secondary star in a presumably spectacular accretion. Because of this, it has inspired the imaginations of artists and authors alike across the years; Chesley Bonestell (1964), painted a famously evocative, depicting Beta Lyrae as it traces a vast fiery spiral across the black sky of some jagged airless world.

ʴʴ I lived in the year 3000 (1959 ), German-language novel (Ich lebte im Jahr 3000) by Heinz Gartmann as by Werner Wehr, with an introduction by German 75

aerospace engineer Eugen Sänger. A journalist who is an outspoken sceptic on the possibility of time dilation accidentally goes on a subjective 10-year voyage to Sheliak, and discovers that the phenomenon is real. ʴʴ Moon Pilot (1962 ), film written by Maurice Tombragel based on the novel Starfire by Robert Buckner, and directed by James Neilson. Astronaut Richmond Talbot is to make the first manned flight around the moon. He is approached by Lyrae, a beautiful “foreign” woman who offers a formula to protect his spacecraft from a hidden flaw. She turns out to be a friendly alien from the planet Beta Lyrae; she stows away, he flies her to the moon. During the mission the two lovers perplex mission control by joining in a love song about the distant planet. ʴʴ“The Soft Weapon” (1967 ), Known Space short story

by Larry Niven published in the collection Neutron Star (1968 ). Two humans and their Puppeteer companion are ambushed on the planet Cue Ball of the Beta Lyrae system by Kzin pirates.110 They possess a “soft weapon” that was originally made for Thrint Slavers by the Tnuctip race, and which can morph into several forms. Taking advantage of this, the trio trick the Kzinti and escape with the weapon. (These events were revisited from another viewpoint in the novel Juggler of Worlds by Larry Niven and Edward M. Lerner.) In “Soft Weapon” Niven’s description of Beta Lyrae is actually a meticulous retelling of the details of Bonestell’s painting rather than any kind of portrayal of the Beta Lyrae system itself, which is now understood to look quite different; Cue Ball is nothing like Bonestell’s.111 ʴʴ The Slaver Weapon (1973 ), episode of Star Trek: The Animated Series written by Larry Niven. In this version of the Slaver story set on an ice planet orbiting 76

Beta Lyrae, the trio of spacefarers comprises Mr. Spock, Uhura, and Sulu. The Tnuctip weapon self-destructs and kills the Kzin pirates (compare Sheliak: “The Soft Weapon” above). Mr. Spock has described Beta Lyrae as “one of the rare spectacles of the galaxy” and further observed that “almost every ship that passes stops”. ʴʴ The Ensigns of Command (1989 ), episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation written by Melinda M. Snodgrass. Enterprise saves human colonists who would be destroyed by natives of Sheliak to make room for their intended colony. ʴʴ The Tail of Beta Lyrae (1983 ), computer game developed by Philip Price and published by Datamost.

The game player takes the role of a wing commander assigned to the Beta Quadrant. Alien invaders have occupied mining colonies in the asteroid belt of the Beta Lyrae planetary system. The player must navigate a fighter through the asteroids and destroy the aliens and their installations. ʴʴ Frontier: Elite II (1993 ) and Frontier: First Encounters (1995 ), computer games written by David Braben et al. Beta Lyrae has an unusual property: If the system is entered, the game crashes as a result of its computer code being unable to handle the mechanics of a contact binary. Only advanced players can observe this, since Beta Lyrae is so distant from the core systems that only powerful ships can get there, although a bug in the game can be exploited to get there more easily. In Elite: Dangerous (2014), the system can be visited, but the contact binary nature of the system is not faithfully represented. ʴʴ Marathon (1994 ), video game developed and published by Bungie Software. The generation ship Marathon is served by several artificial intelligences, 77

including the “utilities” AI Durandal, who is of doubtful loyalty. Durandal dreams of voyaging to Beta Lyrae to see the contact binary’s spectacular accretion disk.

SIGMA DRACONIS (Alsafi)

ʴʴ“Spock’s Brain” (1966 ), episode of Star Trek: The Original Series written by Gene L. Coon as by Lee Cronin and directed by Marc Daniels. The Sigma Draconis system contains three inhabited planets: Sigma Draconis III, IV and VI. Sigma Draconis III is home to a medieval civilization, while the inhabitants of Sigma Draconis IV have reached a post-industrial level. The crew of the Enterprise does battle on Sigma Draconis VI, an ice-blasted world populated by primitive Morgs (who before their fall were more scientifically advanced than the Federation), in a campaign to recover the kidnapped brain of Mr. Spock. ʴʴ Bedlam Planet (1968), novel by John Brunner. A crew of astronauts runs into trouble on a planet of the Sigma Draconis system—they are infected by a local virus that destroys their capacity to assimilate vitamin C. Odd things begin to happen to their mentalities. ʴʴ The Apocalypse Troll (1999 ), novel by David Weber.

Protagonist Ludmilla Leonovna is descended from the Sigma Draconis First Wave112—inhabitants of Sigma Draconis IV who, surviving a biological attack by the violently xenophobic Kanga, acquired a heritable symbiote which lent them an array of enhanced physical and mental powers. She must travel back in time to the Earth of the twenty-first century to do battle against a time-shifted Kanga task force and its Troll (a 78

psychopathic cyborg shock-trooper) who have been assigned the back-time mission of preemptively destroying the human race. ʴʴ Rollback (2007 ), novel written by Robert J. Sawyer.

Sarah Halifax is an astronomer who long ago translated the first transmission received from an extraterrestrial source: Sigma Draconis. Now, 38 years later, the 87-year-old protagonist is again called upon when a second set of signals arrives. In the story, the importance of her task leads to rejuvenation (“rollback”) treatments for herself and her longtime husband—but they only work for him.

SPICA

(Alpha Virginis)

ʴʴ Antares Passage (1987 ), third of the Antares Series of novels by Michael McCollum. Spica is discovered to be the transport hub of the Ryall Hegemony. Most of the events of the following book, Antares Victory, take place in the Spica system.113 ʴʴ Pushing Ice (2005 ), novel written by Alastair Reynolds. Saturn’s moon Janus unexpectedly veers out of its orbit and bolts from the Solar System, pursued by explorer Bella Lind in her space ship the Rockhopper.

On approaching its quarry, the vessel gets helplessly entrained by the inertialess drive that propels the great orb—in reality a huge alien spacecraft—and the ship’s crew, in the realization that they can never return to Earth, eke out a rough settlement on the moon’s surface, willy nilly joining in its voyage to the star Spica.

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T

TAU CORONAE BOREALIS ʴʴ In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (episode “The Nagus”, “Prophet Motive” and “Profit and Lace”), according the Star Trek: Star Charts, on the star chart United Federation of Planets I, the Hupyrians (a humanoid species native to either the Alpha or Beta Quadrant) were from the Hupyria (Tau Coronae Borealis) system.

Both the primary and the secondary were K-type stars.

This system was located in the Alpha Quadrant.115

THETA CENTAURI (Menkent)

ʴʴ Starman Jones (1953), novel by Robert A. Heinlein.

To launch his brilliant career in space, farmhand Max Jones signs on to the Asgard with forged papers. The starship’s first stop on his first voyage out is Garson’s Planet, which “possesses the meager virtue of being least unpleasant” of Theta Centauri’s 13 planets. It is a cold world with a burdensome surface gravity of 1.25 g, and a methane atmosphere that forces human inhabitants to live under domes. rotagonist Giraut Leones discovers that the planet was overwhelmed by an alien. On the plus side, there are no less than six plotted “Horst congruencies” nearby, which makes the planet an interstellar cross-roads for eternity.116 80

THETA HYDRAE ʴʴ In the Star Trek expanded universe, Star Trek Star Charts: The Complete Atlas of Star Trek shows Theta Hydrae as being located within the borders of the Klingon Empire, with the native name Gorath (originally referred to in the Star Trek: Voyager episode “Day of Honor”). Star Trek Online, which based its overworld map on Star Charts, further identifies the Theta Hydrae system as having one marginally habitable planet, which is the location of a ground PVP arena and some of the territorial holdings of the House.

THETA URSAE MAJORIS ʴʴ The Armies of Memory (2006 ), fourth in the series of four Thousand Cultures novels by John Barnes. In this novel Theta Ursae Majoris is orbited by the planet Addams, home to 102 cultures, which has lost contact with Earth. Protagonist Giraut Leones discovers that the planet was overwhelmed by an alien AI force that killed almost all the inhabitants and plundered their brains for memories and experiences.117

81

U

UV CETI Luyten 7268 is a binary star system: The component Luyten 726-8A is a red dwarf star with the variable designation BL Ceti, and Luyten 7268B is a red dwarf with the alternate designation UV Ceti. The latter is the prototype for the class of flare stars, and it goes through fairly extreme changes of brightness: For instance, in 1952, its brightness increased by 75 times in only 20 seconds. None of the items below pretend that UV Ceti is orbited by habitable worlds.

ʴʴ A Gift from Earth (1968 ), Known Space novel by Larry Niven. The colony world Plateau in the Tau Ceti system (11.9 light-years from Earth) lives by a rigorous code: All crimes are punishable by involuntary organ harvesting, while organ transplants are reserved to the benefit of the aristocracy. A robotic Bussard ramjet arrives from Earth, bearing a gift that will upset the unstable social balance on Plateau. But before that ...

“8.3 light-years from Sol, almost directly between Sol and Tau Ceti, lie the twin red dwarf stars 7268. Their main distinction is that they are the stars of smallest 82

mass known to man. Yet they are heavy enough to have collected a faint envelope of gas. The ramrobot braked heavily as her ramscoop plowed through the fringes of that envelope.”118 The relative proximity of Tau Ceti to the Earth (with a turnaround point at UV Ceti) is an important plot element in the novel, enabling Plateau to be isolated from the mother planet, and yet still close enough to receive occasional cargoes via ramjet. ʴʴ Downbelow Station (1981 ) and other Alliance-Union universe works, novels by C. J. Cherryh. UV Ceti is the site of Eldorado Station, one of the stations on the “Great Circle” chain of space stations that terminates at Pell Station in the Tau Ceti system. ʴʴ Timemaster (1992 ), novel by Robert L. Forward. A billionaire makes a six-year journey to the Barnard’s Star system (6 light-years away) to open a wormhole in 2049. Later, a wormhole is opened between Earth and UV Ceti, at a distance of 8.7 light-years.

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V

VAN MAANEN’S STAR (Gliese 35)

ʴʴ A World Out of Time (1970 ), novel by Larry Niven.

Protagonist Jerome Branch Corbell, cryogenically frozen in 1970, is revived in 2190 by an oppressive “State”. He is arbitrarily selected to be the pilot and sole passenger of a Bussard ramjet, whose mission is to find and seed suitable planets as the first step in terraforming them for human colonization. The first planetary system on his to-do list lies in orbit around Van Maanen’s Star. However, disgusted with The State, Corbell hijacks the ship and takes it to the center. ʴʴ Frontier: Elite II (1993), Frontier: First Encounters (1995 ), and Elite: Dangerous (2014 ), computer games written by David Braben et al. The Van Maanen’s planetary system is the home of a radical religious sect that believes in suffering as the key to salvation. Mining is done without machines, and any surplus money that is not needed to satisfy basic requirements like oxygen, food and water is burned in a sacred ceremony. The system is only accessible with a special permit. Due to the banning of ordinary trade items, Van Maanen’s Star is a haven for smugglers.

84

W

WOLF 359 Wolf 359 is a red dwarf of apparent magnitude 13.5 and thus can only be seen with a large telescope. However, at approximately 7.8 light-years away it is the fourth closest stellar system to the Sun; only the Alpha Centauri system, Luhman 16 and Barnard’s Star are known to be closer. thus, even though it is suspected to be a flare star, it has attracted the attention of science fiction authors, filmmakers, and game developers. ʴʴ The Space Pioneers (1953 ), novel in the Tom Corbett, Space Cadet franchise originated by Carey Rockwell.

Corbett is in training at the Space Academy to become a member of the elite Solar Guard. The action of the novel takes place at the Academy, aboard the training ship Polaris, and on alien worlds, both within our Solar System and in orbit around nearby stars—specifically on Roald, a planet circling Wolf 359. ʴʴ“Wolf 359” (1964 ), episode of The Outer Limits television series, written by Seeleg Lester. To test the feasibility of colonizing Dundee Planet in the Wolf 359 system, scientist Jonathan Meridith creates a miniature 85

time-accelerated simulacrum of the planet in his laboratory. When a mysterious lifeform swiftly evolves, Meredith becomes alarmed at its potential. In his final report he writes, “Final report, Dundee Planet, star system Wolf 359. The experiment is finished. My planet is destroyed. My recommendation to the Dundee Foundation: Change the planet selected. It’s not a place we can land our spacemen, but the project is feasible...” ʴʴ Captive Universe (1969 ), novel by Harry Harrison.

Another generation ship story; this time the pre-technological culture that has forgotten its true provenance is Aztec, and the restless young man who discovers the truth is named Chimal. The ship is the hollowed-out asteroid Eros, and the destination is Wolf 359, selected after the original choice of Proxima Centauri was abandoned. ʴʴ The Dark Side of the Sun (1976 ), novel by Terry Pratchett. The story is set in a portion of our galaxy populated by exactly 52 different sentient species. All of these species, humanity among them, have evolved in the last five million years, and all of them have evolved in a spherical volume of space only a few dozen lightyears across centered on Wolf 359. ʴʴ“The Best of Both Worlds” (1990 ), double episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation written by Michael Piller. The Battle of Wolf 359, the subject of the second installment of the episode, is a pivotal confrontation between the Borg and a defensive Federation fleet in 2367, in which a single Borg cube obliterates a substantial fleet of 39 Federation ships. The battle and its aftermath are significant historical events in the fictional history of the Star Trek franchise. The battle appears in greater detail in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine pilot episode “Emissary” (1993 ) and is recounted again by 86

the ex-Borg character Seven of Nine in the Star Trek: Voyager episode “Infinite Regress” (1998 ). ʴʴ Terminal Velocity (1995 ), video game developed by Terminal Reality and published by 3D Realms. The game has three episodes, the first of which is distributed as shareware. Each episode features three different worlds, making a total of nine levels. The third mission, to destroy the spaceship Moon Dagger, is set in the Wolf 359 planetary system. ʴʴ Descent: FreeSpace – The Great War (1998 ), computer game developed by Volition, Inc. and published

by Interplay Entertainment. As a kind of in-game payback for failing a mission, the unsuccessful player is given a throw-away assignment with little chance of augmenting his score: The player’s character is assigned to fly support for an unimportant mission. ʴʴ Chindi (2002 ), Priscilla Hutchins novel by Jack McDevitt. Possibly alien satellites of unknown origin have been discovered orbiting various planets of our Solar System, including the Earth. Hutch’s crew sets out to find who placed them there and why. In the course of the mission, the lost ship Venture is found in the Wolf 359 system. ʴʴ Escape Velocity Nova (2002 ), computer game developed and published by Ambrosia Software. The Federation’s Bureau of Internal Investigation—the secret police—has its interstellar headquarters on the planet New England in the Wolf 359 system. ʴʴ There Will Be Dragons (2003 ), first in the series of four Council Wars novels by John Ringo. In this series, humanity inhabits two main worlds: the Earth and a planet in the Wolf 359 system. Civilization is in a state of stagnant decline as men dream away their days 87

in luxury under the care of an omnipotent nanny-AI. Revolutionaries act to shatter this crippling system, and they plunge the worlds into a new Dark Age, complete with medieval-style warfare. ʴʴ Sword of the Stars (2006 ), computer game developed

by Kerberos Productions and published by Paradox Interactive. In the game the player chooses one of six races to form an interstellar empire and conquer the galaxy. Key to winning the game’s space battles are advanced military technologies, and the game provides the means to “research” them. Character Blasky Yao Hsiang’s “research pod” travels in the direction of Wolf 359 on its first subspace journey. ʴʴ“Who’s Afraid of Wolf 359?” (2008 ), short story by Ken MacLeod. After running afoul of Security on a space station, the unnamed protagonist is coerced into accepting a dangerous assignment: finding out what happened to an experimental colony orbiting Wolf 359.

Find it he does—with rather unexpected results. ʴʴ Troy Rising (2010 —2011), trilogy of military science fiction novels by John Ringo. The Earth is belabored by aliens arriving through a jumpgate who at first appear to be friendly traders, but soon reveal themselves to be bent on conquest. Human resistance forces make use of the portal to travel to the star system Wolf 359, where under the tutelage of war leader Tyler Vernon they build an artificial satellite in orbit around a gas giant planet to extract helium-3 from its atmosphere; this rare isotope is used as fuel by mankind’s space fleet.119 ʴʴ Wolf 359 (2014 ) a podcast series,120 in the tradition of the Golden Age of radio dramas like Escape! and Suspense. The U.S.S. Hephaestus Station, currently on Day 448 of its orbit around red dwarf star Wolf 359, is a tough place for Communications Officer Doug 88

Eiffel. His only company on board the station are stern mission chief Minkowski, insane science officer Hilbert, and Hephaestus Station’s sentient, often malfunctioning operating system HERA. He doesn’t have much to do for his job other than monitoring static and intercepting the occasional decades-old radio broadcast from Earth, so he spends most of his time creating extensive audio logs about the ordinary, day-to-day happenings within the station.

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X

XI PUPPIS (Asmidiske)

ʴʴ Star King (1964 ), “Demon Princes” novel by Jack Vance. Over drinks, protagonist Kirth Gersen is explaining to lovely Pallis Atwrode the origin of the humanoid race of Star Kings. One theory has it that the same vanished race who “carved Monument Cliff on Xi Puppis X” kidnapped a tribe of Neanderthals long ago and removed them to the Star Kings’ homeworld Ghnarumen, there to serve as an experimental evolutionary template for the highly adaptable but still rudimentary native life forms.63

90

Z

ZETA AQUILAE ʴʴ Descent II (1996 ), video game developed by Parallax Software and published by Interplay Entertainment.

The first four levels of the game are set in mining installations in this star system.

ZETA DRACONIS (Aldhibain)

ʴʴ Star Control II (1992 ), computer game developed by Toys for Bob and published by Accolade. Zeta Draconis I is a home to the Aqua Helix, an ancient device worshipped as a sacred relic by the Thraddash. The player must find some way to get around the Thraddash fleet guarding it in order to acquire the Helix, which is necessary to progress.

ZETA RETICULI ʴʴ Alien (1979 ), film written by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett, and directed by Ridley Scott. The spaceship Nostromo receives a mysterious transmission from a nearby planetoid. It sends an expedition to the surface where they find a derelict alien spacecraft. The worldlet is named Acheron (Alien); it is located in the Reticuli system. LV-426 is the colony identification codename given in the sequel, Aliens.121 91

ʴʴ Forty Thousand in Gehenna (1983 ), Alliance-Union universe novel by C. J. Cherryh. A group of 42,363 Union colonists are dispatched to set up a base on the habitable planet Gehenna II in the Zeta Reticuli system.

Unknown to the settlers, their mission is designed to fail; they are deliberately abandoned to create longterm problems for the rival Alliance. ʴʴ Space: Above and Beyond (1995 –1996 ), television series created by Glen Morgan and James Wong. In early 2063, the Chigs wage war against humanity, launching what appears to be an unprovoked first-strike against two human colonies. Zeta Reticuli is the home system of celestial bodies 2063F (the Chig homeworld). ʴʴ Silicon Embrace (1996 ), novel written by John Shirley. During a second American Civil War soon, a group of journalists is caught up in a plot hatched by obscure government entities and an alien race from Zeta Reticuli. The Reticulans have been secretly influencing the course of human evolution for years. ʴʴ Seven Days (1998–2001 ), television series created by Christopher and Zachary Crowe. A secret NSA department has developed a time machine based on alien technology and a fuel source found in the wreckage of a spacecraft from Zeta Reticuli near Roswell, New Mexico. The show’s “Backstep Sphere” can send one operative seven days back in time to avert disasters. ʴʴ Yu-Gi-Oh! (1999 ), original trading card game published by Konami. It is based on the fictional game of Duel Monsters created by manga artist Kazuki Takahashi. ʴʴ Prometheus (2012 ), film written by Jon Spaihts and Damon Lindelof, and directed by Ridley Scott. In 2089, two scientists discover a star map among the 92

remnants of several ancient Earth cultures. Following the map, the spaceship Prometheus and its crew arrive on Christmas Day 2093 at the moon LV-223 in the Zeta Reticuli system where they find an abandoned bioweapons installation of a technologically advanced humanoid race and encounter a threat to Earth. ʴʴ Space Raiders, a British corn snack, lists Zeta Reticuli IX as the home planet of the Space Raider Secoid aliens depicted on the front of the packet. ʴʴ Exo-Politics, a song by British band Muse, uses the lyrics “When the Zetas fill the skies” referring to extraterrestrials from the Zeta Reticuli system orbiting and controlling the Earth.

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123

36 OPHIUCHI ʴʴ Dune (1965 ) and other novels in the Dune universe

by Frank Herbert. 36 Ophiuchi B is orbited by the planet Giedi Prime, the homeworld.14 ʴʴ Frontier: Elite II (1993 ) computer games written by David Braben et al. 36 Ophiuchi is a mining system whose population of mineworkers is concentrated on an earthlike moon in orbit around a gas giant. ʴʴ Star Carrier: Deep Space (2013 ) by Ian Douglas. 36 Ophiuchi A is orbited by a proto-garden world dubbed Arianrhod where Earth has a research outpost.

40 (Ο²) ERIDANI ʴʴ Dune (1965 ) and other novels in the Dune universe

by Frank Herbert. “Eridani A” is orbited by the planet Richese (the fourth planet in orbit). Richese and Ix are “supreme in machine culture”; their devices are commonplace and considered essential throughout the Dune universe, though they sometimes test the limits of the anti-technology proscriptions of the Butlerian.14 ʴʴ Star Trek (1966 ). Film, television, and print franchise originated by Gene Roddenberry. The planet Vulcan, homeworld of the Vulcan species, orbits 40 Eridani A. Although it is not explicitly stated in any TV show or film, both the authorized Star Trek book, Star Trek: Star Charts 15 and Roddenberry himself 16 give this 94

location. In addition, Commander Tucker’s statement in Star Trek: Enterprise that Vulcan is 16 light years from Earth supports this location.

47 URSAE MAJORIS ʴʴ Coyote (2002 ), trilogy by Allen Steele. Much of the action of the series takes place on Coyote, a fictional habitable moon of 47 Ursae Majoris b, a planet given the name Bear. Altogether, Bear has six fictional satellites —Dog, Hawk, Eagle, Coyote, Snake and Goat— although only Coyote is habitable. 47 Ursae Majoris c is known as Wolf,and there are two fictional terrestrial planets, Fox and Raven, which orbit inward from Bear. ʴʴ Old Man’s War (2005 ), by John Scalzi. One of the warzones that the main character, John Perry, is deployed to is Colony 622, a fictional terrestrial planet in the 47 Ursae Majoris system.

61 CYGNI ʴʴ Foundation series (1951 ), novels by Isaac Asimov.

The star system 61 Cygni, in the Sirius Sector, is advanced by Lord Dorwin as a potential site for the planet of origin of the human species. ʴʴ Time and Again (1951 ), novel by Clifford D. Simak.

61 Cygni is a mysterious system whose planets are impossible to approach. ʴʴ Mission of Gravity (1953 ), novel by Hal Clement.

The binary 61 Cygni star system is home to the supermassive planet Mesklin, which rotates rapidly and is highly oblate, with a gravity of 3 g at the equator and 95

700 g at the poles. A human explorer lands at the equator and engages a crew of the intelligent, centipede-like Mesklinites to retrieve a vital component from a space probe that has crashed at one of the poles. Although the 61 Cygni binary is known to be the home system of Mesklin,17 and is often seen in the sky, it is never actually named in the book: 61 Cygni A is always called simply “the sun”, while 61 Cygni B, fainter by a full apparent magnitude, bears the Mesklinite name.18 19 ʴʴ Traveller (1977 ), suite of role-playing games designed by the Game Designers’ Workshop. 61 Cygni is the home star of Nusku, a major colony world of strategic importance during the interstellar wars of the 22nd century. ʴʴ Blake’s 7 (1978 ), television program created by Terry Nation. The region around 61 Cygni, known as the Darkling Zone, is the only volume of space near Earth that has never been surveyed, since it is home to an alien race which is hostile to mankind and has even released a virus at a Terran Federation base, using a piece of space debris as a vector. ʴʴ Portal (1986 ), interactive novel by Brad Fregger. In this novel the player, assuming the role of the unnamed astronaut protagonist, returns from a failed 100-year voyage to 61 Cygni to find the Earth devoid of humans. ʴʴ Frontier: Elite II (1993 ) and Frontier: First Encounters (1995 ), computer games written by David Braben The terraformed Cygnan planet Scott is notorious for its harsh, icy environment. Nonetheless, its sustaining planetwide fishing industry is well supplemented by a thriving ecotourism industry—visitors from nearby mining systems would never otherwise. ʴʴ Revelation Space universe (2000 ), novels and stories

by Alastair Reynolds. 61 Cygni is the home star of the 96

planet Sky’s Edge, an earthlike planet in a perpetual state of war between settler families. ʴʴ 61 Sygni was the title of an ABC (Australia) SF radio drama from the 1950s. It described the adventures of a human crew who traveled to a planet around 61 Sygni.

They encountered a race of beings similar to humans.

61 URSAE MAJORIS ʴʴ“The Warriors” (1966 ), Known Space short story by Larry Niven published in the collection The Shape of Space (1969 ). 61 Ursae Majoris is the star system of the planet Kzin, homeworld of the Kzinti (singular Kzin), a warlike and bloodthirsty race of cat-like aliens in Niven’s Known Space series.20 ʴʴ 2300 AD (1986 ), role-playing game designed by the Game Designers’ Workshop. Home system of Joi, a habitable garden world that has four ethnic colonies (Azanian, British, German, and Japanese), as well as the free nation of Elysia, a former French colony. ʴʴ Mass Effect (2007 ), videogame published by Microsoft Game Studios. Birth system of the character of Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams.

70 OPHIUCHI ʴʴ“Miri” (1966 ), episode of Star Trek: The Original Series written by Adrian Spies. In the James Blish treatment of this episode, the events take place on a planet in the 70 Ophiuchi star system. ʴʴ Starforce: Alpha Centauri (1974 ), science fiction 97

board game published by Simulation Publications based on a concept by Redmond Simonsen. In this game as well as in the spin-off game StarSoldier, 70 Ophiuchi is the home of the Rame. ʴʴ The Ophiuchi Hotline (1977 ), novel by John Varley.

Humanity survives with the aid of a technology derived from information in the Ophiuchi Hotline, a radio signal apparently beamed from the star 70 Ophiuchi. ʴʴ In the novel Endymion by Dan Simmons it is said that the world known as Mare Infinitus is an aquatic moon of a subjovian planet located in orbit.

82 ERIDANI In 2011 three Super Earths were confirmed in orbit around 82 Eridani (HD20794).21 ʴʴ Latency (2010 ), short story by Simon Petrie originally published in Aurealis magazine. A small team of xenobiologists and geochemists seeks to understand the mysterious, self-regulating algae that is the sole lifeform native to Charis, a terrestrial planet orbiting 82 Eridani. ʴʴ Frozen Edge and Red Blood, Red Sky (2013 ), novels by Matthew D. Walter feature a planet named Kresslabahn, home planet of the alien tanakans. It is depicted as the fourth planet from 82 G. Eridani. ʴʴ Along with five other exoplanets, 82 Eridani e was included in Civilization: Beyond Earth’s Exoplanet DLC as a playable map.23 It states that the corps’ second Marine Space Force that of Eridanus.

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94 AQUARII ʴʴ“Unexpected” (2001 ), episode of Star Trek: Enterprise written by Rick Berman and Brannon Braga. The episode makes reference to the Fellebian civilization. The fictional reference book Star Trek: Star Charts (2002 ) 15 depicts 94 Aquarii as a trinary star with two class G components and a class K component.

The trinary is orbited by the planet Fellebia.

107 PISCIUM ʴʴ Absolution Gap (2003 ), novel by Alastair Reynolds.

107 Piscium is orbited by the gas giant Haldora which is in turn orbited by the habitable moon Hela.

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