Nueva Castilla

Planetary flag of Nueva Castilla

Nueva Castilla is an exoplanet in the SVC-3017 'Culebre' system, currently in the late stages of terraforming. Once a barren rock, it was chosen for colonization by the United Nations (succeeded by the Terran Commonwealth, and later the Sol Central Government) because of its size, core composition and location in the Culebre system's “goldilocks zone” – in the wake of Earth's ecological collapse, Nueva Castilla become one of several escape vectors chosen by humans with the means to flee off-planet.

Since the terraforming project began, Nueva Castilla has developed a functional, if decidedly unique biosphere where much of the planet is covered in a fast-growing moss. There are two major human settlements – Placida and Santiago – and a number of smaller ones both planetside and in-system. Today, Nueva Castilla is a well-connected member of the Sol Central Government after over a century's worth of delays.

Culture

Demographics and Language

Nueva Castilla has developed a unique culture over the century and a half since its establishment, with significant influence from old-Earth Iberian pioneer culture as well as from Culebre's neighboring systems. Spacer cultures formed from a blend of Castillan and non-Castillan traditions are very common off-world.

Zurich Accord Common is Nueva Castilla's primary trade language, and is taught as a first language in public education. Censuses dictate a majority of Castillans (but not all) speak a variety of languages in the Iberian linguistic family.

A majority of the labour on the planet revolves around moss-based agriculture, ecological templating, and subsistence, whereas mining, commerce and heavy industrial labour are the focuses for those off-world.

Political Climate

Prior to the construction of the Culebre Gateway, Nueva Castilla was isolated from much of the Terran Commonwealth's (and later, the SCG's) political baggage. It is headed by the Nueva Castilla Constituency Body (NCCB), which interacts with corporate and public entities from the SCG and beyond. Members of the body are chosen in local elections.

Castillans are demographically underrepresented outside Culebre, but they have a strong presence in the SCG's uniformed services. Following the formation of the SCG, Nueva Castilla was given a founding seat in the Solar Senate due to its history and physical adjacency to Sol.

History

Initial Discovery

A full-scale survey mission of the Culebre system began around the start of the 22nd century – primarily carried out by ships and crews originating from the Iberian Peninsula – as part of a joint project under the aegis of the United Nations. Research vessels confirmed the findings of observatories on Earth regarding Nueva Castilla's molten iron-rich core and moderate temperature variations. These, together with the planet's near-Earth mass and the presence of nearby ice comets in the system, made Nueva Castilla a promising candidate for terraforming. The planet was christened in honour of the mission's researchers and their origins.

Initial Settlement and Terraforming

The plan to terraform Nueva Castilla revolved around bringing down the icy orbital bodies in the Culebre system and putting them on a controlled course into the planet, saturating it with water and vapour. Nueva Castilla's surface, comprised mostly of high plains and ravines, grew into a series of islands, lagoons, and narrow stretches of water. This deorbiting effort was followed by geochemical intervention on the planet's soil through the use of moss, which assisted in cooling down the planet. This tactic was priorly tested on one of Nueva Castilla's moons, Idas, unsuccessfully.

Settlement was properly finalised in the southern hemisphere – where terraforming efforts on the planet were modest and mostly fruitful – with a mixture of underground and enclosed above-ground structures.

Terran Commonwealth Contact

Nueva Castilla was still relatively unpopulated when it was incorporated into the Terran Commonwealth after the latter's founding in 2130. Castillans received the news with little fanfare and a small flag-changing ceremony. Over the next few decades, the colony would grow to be relatively stable, separated from the major politics of Sol. During this period, the Expeditionary Corps established a base and a number of space stations in the Culebre system as part of the exploration rush of the 2150s.

While scientific advancement was afoot with the promise of resources and funding initiatives by the Terran Commonwealth, a shift away from the relatively slow progress of terraforming and towards the bluespace boom (along with rising tensions with the Ares Confederation) stole the limelight from Nueva Castilla.

SCG Resurgence

With the fall of the Terran Commonwealth and the foundation of the Sol Central Government, promising colonies rose to the forefront of the young SCG. This lead to an influx of technical and cultural talent not only from Earth proper, but also from other colonies.

This resurgence led to the partial construction of the Culebre Gateway, as well as the establishment of a SCG Fleet base for the purposes of flag-marking and system security. Additionally, the increase in Nueva Castilla's population – as well as the need to hasten terraforming practices – saw the rise of Santiago into a proper population center.

This period was short-lived, as rising tensions with the Gilgamesh Colonial Confederation soon forced the SCG to retract much of its support. With corporate assets reducing operations soon after, the system returned to state of relative lull, with limited support from the SCG.

Post-Copernican Split Settlement

With the stabilisation of the GCC and SCG post-conflict, the SCG resumed its efforts in Culebre. With the aid of corporate assets (such as the Slate Sisters Engineering Corps, Vu-Cheong, Aether Atmospherics, and others) willing to invest in space travel, labour, and industry, the Culebre Gateway was finally fully built and operational by 2297. Trade and commercial establishments opened up shortly afterwards as part of a planned endeavour to kick-start economic interest in the system.

With the 2311 secession of the Copernicus system, investors have begun touting Nueva Castilla as the SCG's next premier tourist hub, replacing Brahe: with its warm climate and plentiful lagoons, these entrepreneurs believe Nueva Castilla has the potential to become the perfect get-away spot for the rich.

Development efforts are ongoing to temper out the northern hemisphere's dizzyingly hot climate and overall thinner atmosphere. New research suggests a few more decades until the planet is "perfect" – an estimate that has been deferred multiple times.

Geography

While Nueva Castilla's southern hemisphere is more-or-less on par with other human worlds in terms of habitability, its climate is generally quite warm. Average temperatures sit above those of Earth and Gaia, but below Tadmor.

The northern hemisphere's climate is swelteringly hot, and conditions are generally considered too extreme for unprotected human habitation. Currently, efforts are underway to moderate the region's temperatures to more livable levels. Structural instability of the land due to overgrown moss is also a concern – most caves and lagoons are uncharted in this region.

The north has not recovered from the stress of terraforming caused by the rapid expansion of injected algae and moss throughout most of the planet. Several irregular natural formations have been discovered here, such as the "Floating Stilts" – a range of eroded hills currently in the form of standing cliff-faces.

Notable Settlements

Placida

The first named settlement on Nueva Castilla, Placida was founded in the earlier stages of terraforming and has since become the planet's capital. Located in the southern hemisphere, the town was initially built around the original encampment of the first survey team and gradually expanded to accommodate an ever-increasing number of settlers and technicians. Placida grew exponentially in the 2100s in the wake of the human exodus away from an ecologically unstable Earth – the promise of a new world as a potential vector for escape captured public interest at the time.

A large amount of Placida's earliest facilities were dedicated to altering Nueva Castilla's surface – the Atmospheric Terraforming Central Facility is one of them. Composed of air monitoring stations and a chimney-like apparatus that emits oxygen and nitrogen, it is a popular tourist attraction and serves as a cultural monument.

Santiago

While Placida housed most first and second generation settlers – descendants of the UN-led expeditions who lived on orbital stations – Santiago was established in the interim before the Gaia Conflict, and saw rapid growth as residents from not only Placida but also other colonies off-world flocked to the new city in the wake of Nueva Castilla's cultural boom. Only as the Gaia Conflict began did this wave of immigration slow.

Santiago hosts vasts tracts of hydroponics and traditional agriculture moss farms, due to its establishment on a relatively flat terrain.

Currently, Santiago's population is steadily increasing due to an influx of refugees from Copernicus.

Minor Settlements

While smaller settlements do exist outside of Santiago and Placida, they are typically either isolated research outposts or tourist and trading spots connecting the planet's two major settlements.

NCDG Citadel

Site Citadel is a collection of military sites belonging to the Nueva Castilla Defense Group (NCDG), established between Placida and Santiago. Flying the flags of both the NCCB and the SCG, it is not uncommon to see SCG Army liaison elements present for training and joint exercises.

SCGECO Cicada

The Cicada Weather Facility is an Expeditionary Corps facility established in Nueva Castilla's equatorial zone. Per its name, it conducts atmospheric research, provides weather forecast data, and also conducts occasional expeditions into the mostly uncharted northern hemisphere.

The facility is augmented by Xynergy, and one may sometimes see giant armoured serpentid assistants alongside the usual EC Cultural Exchange personnel.

Off-World

Moons

Nueva Castilla has two moons, Idas and Lynceus, which are home to a variety of services.

Idas is the central hub of Culebre's Gateway Administration. It is host to Gassantoda SFB – a temporary home to Second Fleet groups tasked on rotational deployments. Remnants from the time when the moon was used as the testing ground for geo-chemical terraforming can still be found underground, abandoned.

Lynceus, on the other hand, is entirely relegated to the NCCB's off-world arm. They manage belt industries, as well as mining contracts to carve out the moon's vast water-ice deposits. These mining efforts are destined to eventually give the moon an irregular shape – a problem for another tomorrow.

Gateway

The Culebre Gateway connects the system with the rest of the SCG via bluespace relay. It is managed by the Gateway Administration, with oversight from the Nueva Castilla Constituency Body. The finalization of the gateway in 2297 led to a trade boom in the system, and numerous commerce facilities have since cropped up around it.

Fun Facts

• The initial survey camp – called Pioneer Square – still remains intact today, standing in the center of Placida as an open-air exhibit and monument to the original colonists.
• "Placida's Step" is celebrated as a national holiday in Placida and beyond. It commemorates the first explorers settling down on the partially-terraformed planet on March 12th, 2129.
• Conversely, "Santiago's Settlement" is a holiday specific to Santiago, celebrating the city's founding on September 19th, 2280.
• Moss cakes are a sweet local delicacy, often served on such occasions. These cakes can be made with a variety of species common to Nueva Castilla in some recipes, with heavy cream.
• Castillans tend to be taller than the galactic average. This has been attributed to the planet's thinner atmosphere when compared to Earth.
• Castillans enjoy a high quality of life with access to advanced health care, varied and adequate food, and broad personal freedoms.
• The flag's design comes from the initial asteroid-based terraforming attempts. While talks of changes to the flag were started during contact with the Terran Commonwealth, those efforts fizzled and the flag remains unchanged to this day.
• It is often said that during contact, while the collapse of the United Nations came as a surprise to Castillans, the continuation of purpose and intent was smoothly accepted. This, however, has come to conflict with various data-archaeologists across the SCG.
• The planet was officially declared breathable in 2230, though terraforming continues to this day. The recuperation of moss flora and introduction of larger plant species, as well as the exploration, environmental taming and subsequent settlement of the northern hemisphere are slated to take more time.
• Idas revolves in prograde, while Lynceus revolves in retrograde. The subsequent eclipsing of the two bodies is considered a matter of significance in many religions practiced on the planet.

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