The Hundred Polities

The Hundred Polities lie towards the outer rim of human expansion, following the Orion Arm instead of the Perseus Transit. There are hundreds of star systems not claimed by any one polity, instead populated by freelancers, pirates, warlords, aliens, and ne'er-do-wells of every stripe, eager to carve out a section of space for themselves. Politicians consider every habited star system a single state, though some have expanded over the years and taken over nearby neighbors. All sorts of strange governments and communities crop up in the Hundred Polities, some lasting longer than others, but few lasting longer than one or two generations.   Many wonder why the Hundred Polities are like they are- shouldn't a nascent government have formed and taken over the area? There are several theories about why nobody has really been able to take hold of the territory.   The first theory is that the major polities, formed early during the Exodus fleet, can only hold on to so many stars before control slips through their fingers. The ever-changing border between the Hundred Polities and greedy nations like the Shung Empire and the Covenant Progeniture lend credence to the theory; the two are forever nibbling away at edges of the Hundred Polities but fail to consolidate any truly major gains of raw territory.   The second major theory is that the Damalians have reached an accord with Neo-Humanity, either by threat or outright diplomacy. The Damalians have always been rather happy to have humanity to buffer them from the rest of the universe, but an organized polity on their doorstep can only lead to friction. Keeping the Hundred Polities fractured and balkanized provides the Damalian Empire with a bit more peace of mind.   A third theory is called the Great Game Conjecture. The GGC postulates that the Hundred Polities are not as free and open as they seem, but are instead simple pawns of the major galactic powers, used as recruitment grounds and for plausible deniability. In the GGC, the greater powers have a vested interest in maintaining some 'free' states to further inscrutable goals. Unsurprisingly this is a favorite argument of freelancers.   A fourth theory is a sociologic theory called the Galactic Liminal. The Hundred Polities are a place of unfettered freedom, drawing all of the rejects of society into the small communities that characterize the space sector. The Hundred Polities are free because they have to be free, a sort of galactic sink habitat for people who don't fit into reputable society. The Hundred Polities are therefore a species-wide stress release valve, and societies will naturally provide for locations to displace the proverbial Other. This is the favored interpretation of Ballard Constitution academics.   There is a fifth and final theory: the Hundred Polities are the way they are because some of them are just not worth the effort. Some of the Polities have outsized fleets, or enough money to hire enough freelancers to make capturing and holding them a risky prospect. The reward simply isn't worth the effort.   Here are four major polities for the interested scholar:

• Dosadi-3 is the most populated world in the Hundred Polities.  This hive world is ruled by an unusual technocracy:  a VI connected to an implant in everyone's cerebral cortex.  During times of crisis the Dosadi-3 VI can switch 'on', effectively suppressing individuality and slaving the entire population to solve one or two specific goals.  This has made Dosadi-3 rich, stable, and above all powerful- while at the same time freaking out almost every other sentient power in the galaxy.
• Maoni Station is a series of orbiting platforms around a red dwarf star surrounded by a rich asteroid field.  The sapce station started as a repair depot, but soon developed a reputation for quality work and stylistic flair.  Shipwrights from throughout Neo-Human space inevitably find themselves visiting Maoni Station at least once, usually to attend symposia or to view the newest and most interesting prototypes.  Unfortunately Maoni Station has fallen on hard times, as it has been under consistent assaults by interested Torque fleets for the past three years.  So far money and firepower have kept the station in business, but if the assaults continue Maoni Station will wither on the vine.
• Gnylisson is a barren planet that once hosted an ancient alien race.   All evidence suggests the Gnylisson race- a three-legged, gracile species with a hauntingly human face- were wiped out by a comet impact shortly after discovering spaceflight.  All of their efforts were bent on deflecting the comet strike, but it was all in vain.  Today Gnylisson makes its living as a tourist destination, and the democratic local government enjoys charging an arm and a leg for even the smallest artifact.
• Tabraxis is one of the oldest polities, and is fittingly based on a feudal government.  The Kingdom of Tabraxis rose to prominence thanks to the world's mild and pleasing climate, then skyrocketed when they discovered rich veins of rare earth metals in their mountains.  The Kingdom is well-known for sending out their knights as mercenaries to other Neo-Human polities.  Their forces often fly small boarding ships that ram into enemy ships and disgorge their heavily armed and armored knights.  In recent years their ram-boarder designs have been stolen by the New Economic Block and mercenary groups such as the Spindledogs, but their knights are still in high demand throughout the Hundred Polities and beyond.