PAGATON C769873-4 Rob Dean (robdean@access.digex.net) Pagaton was originally settled fairly early in the Imperial Era, by a consortium of diverse groups from Mora, Trin, and planets in the Deneb sector. At the time, it was a garden planet, and the various colony groups did not interact much since they were placed on separate large islands. About 600, the planet began sliding into an Ice Age. Trade with other planets had always been marginal due to the disadvan- tageous position of the system, off the Spinward Main, and as more and more of the world's resources were channeled into survival related activities, exports fell off, causing fewer traders to arrive, creat- ing a vicious cycle which did not end until the planetary tech level dropped to 4. Some trade has resumed since the opening of the Binges starport in 1057 drew traders through the little cluster, but the main export, furs, does not generate enough foreign exchange credits to engage in any sort of large scale rebuilding effort. The large number of competing governments exacerbate the situation, since they tend to use what foreign exchange they have to equip their armed forces in an effort to seize or influence the distribution of vital resources (such things as ice free ports and easily recoverable iron and coal depos- its). Since the best the planet could hope for is to become an agri- cultural world, the interest of offworld powers is extremely limited. Small groups of low tech mercenaries, from planets such as Aki or Tarkine, will occasionally hire themselves out on Pagaton for 'real life' training. With a planetary population of about 900 million, the few islands which are fortunate enough to reside in the narrow habitable zone are fairly crowded, adding to the misery of the unfortunate inhabitants. Only the presence of edible native vegetation which will grow in the harsh equatorial environment, and the extensive use of sea life for sustenance, allows the continuation of human life on the planet. |