Origins, geography and climate.
Humans have understood and applied the concept of Terraforming for centuries, even before the development of interstellar travel. First applied on Mars, and later on Luna (Earth’s Moon), terraforming would see use on numerous planets as Human expansion continued. However, terraforming is an expensive, complex, and most importantly, time-consuming process. By the year 2700, most of the Milky Way had been explored, and all of the habitable and biocompatible planets discovered by humans had been claimed and colonized. The remaining terraforming candidates were worlds like Mars or Venus, which have the potential to be terraformed, but would require extensive time and money. This type of terraforming was hardly new, having been applied to both Mars and Venus, as well as numerous other bodies in the Sol system. The process requires several decades, and involves slow introduction of liquid water, atmosphere, plant life, and acceptable temperatures in order to produce a self-maintaining biosphere. Typically, several hundred colonists are installed in dome environments throughout the planet to conduct the terraforming, in return for first dibs on land claims and substantial hazard pay.
Paradise was, initially, to be a test-bed for a new type of terraforming. Rather than the conventional process of slowly transforming a planet to the point that it was livable, the goal was use large surface installations in strategic locations on the planet to produce an atmosphere capable of sustaining life without the need for protective gear. The planet could then be used immediately, and the mechanisms for long-term sustainability could be put in place overtime. Effectively shortening the process from one of several decades, to several years. This strategy was referred to as creating a "shake and bake" colony. Paradise, on initial inspection, appeared to be perfect. Its orbit, position relative to its sun, and the size of its sun provided near earthlike conditions. Gravity was slightly lighter, as the planet was a bit smaller, and surface temperatures were quite high, but the gravity was within livable range, and temperatures would cool as the atmosphere provided a barrier to the harsher solar radiation. At some point in its history, it was believed that the world had sustained at least primitive life, as orbital inspection revealed the remnants of small oceans on the surface, and images taken from thousands of light-years away showed liquid water and even some green areas. It was believed that the planet's core had cooled, and its magnetic field weakened, causing solar wind and radiation to destroy much of the atmosphere. This made it a perfect candidate for the experiment: terraforming engineers knew that the planet had sustained life at one point, and the factors that currently made this untenable were easily adjusted with available technology.
This concept was exciting to the Protectorate. The ability to easily and cheaply harvest a planet's resources without having to wait decades, or be forced to use robotic equipment and spacesuits would be a valuable tool indeed. Genesis Trans-Galactic, The terraforming company responsible for developing the process, was given permission to implement it on Paradise, and study the effects. However, in their rush to develop the new technology, they overlooked an important fact, and the reason nobody had ever bothered to do it this way before. Planetary ecology is immensely complicated. Traditional terraforming essentially takes the geological, biological, and atmospheric steps which scientists knew happened to earth in order to make it support life, and simply uses artificial means to speed up the process. It's a complicated series of steps, each of which is necessary to support the next. Genesis Trans-Galactic had failed to realize that conditions on the planet surface might react negatively to the sudden imposition of an earthlike atmosphere without prior preparation.
This moment of hubris would prove fatal to the project. For the most part, it seemed like it had succeeded perfectly. Installations at the north and south poles used titanic electromagnets coupled to geothermal piles to boost the world's magnetosphere, while oxygen, nitrogen, ozone and CO2 generation facilities created a breathable atmosphere. Enormous chunks of ice harvested from asteroids and comets were flown in by stargate, and lowered piece by piece to fill the ancient ocean beds. But the addition of an atmosphere and liquid water produced something that should've been expected: weather. Paradise had had little tectonic activity, thanks to the cooling of its core, and was largely flat. This left the winds created by the new atmosphere with nothing to stop them. And when the unimpeded wind met the planetary dust, disaster struck. Within months of the initial project completion date, the atmosphere was filled with dust. In some places it blotted out the sun, in others, made it virtually impossible to see more than a few meters in front of you. It destroyed equipment, ruined vehicles, and killed men breathed too much of it. Genesis was horrified, and attempted to backpedal. But if they were disappointed, their Protectorate backers were furious.
Too much money had been invested in the planet to back down now however, and authorities scrambled to find a new use for their multi trillion dollar dustball. Eventually, someone proposed that the world be used as a penal colony, to support the rapidly increasing numbers of political prisoners and other detainees that accompanied the Protectorate's ever-increasing rush towards collapse. Reluctantly agreeing to make the best of a bad situation, the plan was adopted, and thousands of prisoners were packed off to the now very ironically named planet. Over the next 70 years, the extreme conditions of the world's initial days would calm down, and while it was still far from comfortable, Paradise was at least habitable, provided you took the proper precautions. Meanwhile, the population had steadily increased, as new people were born on the world, and more and more shiploads of prisoners were brought in. By 2778, the central continent (roughly the size of Africa) boasts a population of almost 230 million souls, mostly concentrated around the few oases to be found there. The harsh conditions of the planet itself serve as both guards and warden, preventing the inhabitants from ever developing the technology required to leave. The only ways off the planet are found in the atmosphere maintenance facilities, where resupply and repair crews regularly land in order to preserve the atmosphere. Most of these platforms are located at sea, or other very difficult to reach areas, and are heavily defended by minefields, drones, and automated defenses.
Society and culture
While much of the population of Paradise are descendants of criminals, not criminals themselves, and even much of the criminal population was not sent there for violent crimes, violence and death permeates the landscape of Paradise. Those prisoners who were guilty of violent crimes have effectively taken over, the petty criminals and political prisoners are forced to either bow to their wishes or face their wrath. The Protectorate does not particularly care what happens to the denizens of Paradise. They are sent there because a life sentence is easier to sell to the public than summery execution, but as far as they are concerned, detention on Paradise is effectively a death sentence. As a result, there is little to no governance: the Protectorate defends their climate maintenance facilities, as well as the boats arriving to drop off fresh prisoners, but other than that the inmates are left to their own devices. Those devices usually involve either joining or forming one of the numerous gangs and war bands that stalk the wastelands.
The few large warlords who managed to establish themselves for any period of time rule their territories with an iron fist, recruiting or enslaving newly arrived inmates, or anyone who has the misfortune to wander into their lands. Some, usually political prisoners who wisened up, or former GLF agitators have formed tribes that are somewhat safer than most, but even those are dicey, as usually the only guarantee of safety from the other warlords is to be just as violent as they are. Some tribes have found homes under the surface, in vast cave networks where the dust is not as bad, and the atmosphere is thicker (especially a boon to followers, who typically require a higher oxygen content than humans). These underground societies typically produce the more advanced technologies, such as metal storm weapons, required to defend their havens from the surface world, and are very exclusive and distrustful of outsiders. The only other option for those wishing to avoid the war ands is a nomadic existence, but even that is fraught with danger, particularly from external forces who preferto pick on smaller groups.
Another major hazard is war tourism. Humans in particular have always been known for their fascination with frontiers and travel to dangerous places. And now that the frontier has mostly dried up, this inherent curiosity has taken a darker turn. While the Protectorate officially discourages people from visiting Paradise, this is not stop them from licensing several companies to conduct "Safaris" on the world. Provided certain conditions are met (never allowing an orbit capable vehicle to land on the surface, taking every precaution to avoid letting advanced weapons fall into prisoner hands) these groups are permitted to lead small expeditions of wealthy customers, armed to the teeth and defended by professional guides, to the surface. While there are plenty of combat zones in human space, most of them involve forces like the GLF, who possess advanced weaponry and could pose a serious threat. Paradise, on the other hand, has a native population with almost no technology, allowing wealthy psychopaths to get a rush from fighting them without ever being in real danger. At least, in theory. In practice, these expeditions are often waylaid, and their vehicles and equipment end up in the hands of the locals. Some warlords have become incredibly powerful simply by watching for reentry trails in the sky, and ambushing war tourists for their weapons.
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by Screwface Romeo on Sat Sep 27, 2014 12:04 am 
