Planet: Galen (Hesperus)

Government: Professional beaureacracy.

Tech level: 7 medical / biological: 8

Control level: 4 (representative government), Religious freedom: 6

Population: 750,000

Original colonists: Global research project; various races

Religion: Scientific atheists.

Prime philosophical principles: Justice must be done and be seen to be done. Scientific truth and evidence are at least as valid in the general case as their legal equivalents.

Description: Galen was originally founded by a large group of biological research scientists who were recruited from around the world to study the exotic native flora and fauna. The life on Galen is biochemically similar to earth life but less specialised. This meant that while the local life is edible, communicable diseases were so simple that the more sophisticated human immune system is easily able to hold them at bay. The lack of specialisation also made the life- forms much easier to study which in turn elicited much more detailed knowledge of analogous earth life up to and including higher primates. Galen is in many ways an ideal colony planet except that the indigenous life is exceptionally vulnerable to colonisation, both by infectious diseases and by human exploitation. For this reason Galen is maintained as a research project, with the only population increase, after the first one thousand immigrants, due to local births.

The government on Galen has evolved from what was originally intended to be an academic meritocracy. Principles of civil liberty were always held to be paramount, however, and it quickly became evident that members of the second generation who showed no particular scientific inclination were in danger of becoming disenfranchised. By chance, a significant proportion of the original settlers were advocates of the idea of the Science Court and had, between them, a fair amount of legal knowledge. A constitution was set up guaranteeing the right of the individual to the freedom and resources to achieve his or her best potential, open government and the existence of an independent media to oversee that openness and the banning of exploitation of individuals, social groups or the environment. In addition to this, continuing research was leading to major medical breakthroughs which frequently had legal implications. Since the population of Galen was so small and, for a new colony, its legal structure so complex the government soon became top heavy. This has led to the situation today where a large proportion of the population are either medical biologists or lawyers with the small elected government and the Union of Trades-Persons (representing the non-professional majority) constituting the other major power groups.

Residents of particular geographical areas of Galen are represented by a democratically elected lawyer, their Representative, who functions as their combination lawyer, senator, governor and member of parliament and is responsible for upholding their legal and civil rights. A legal education is regarded as a reasonable pre-requisite for a political career on Galen, although it is not necessary to have practised or to have passed the bar. Every five years these Representatives elect an Upper House analogous to a Cabinet or Congress but more closely resembling in structure an earthly judiciary.

If cited in any action a citizen may be defended by their Representative for free, although they have the option to hire a third-party defence at their own expense or, if they are a Trades- Person in an action instigated by a Professional, they may select a lawyer from the Union of Trades-Persons, again without charge. The main purpose of the Union of Trades-Persons, however, is to petition the civil government for the rights of the non-Professional citizenry as regards wages, working conditions, employment rights, etc. If their Representative is not a member of the bar (a so called "unfrocked" Representative) they will put forward a Representative from another district in their place. This necessity is frowned upon but is becoming more common as the population of Galen increases and the pressure from Trades-Persons to lower the requirements to become a Representative becomes more evident.

It should perhaps be noted that, as the vast majority of the original colonists were atheists or agnostics, religious freedom is not explicitly guaranteed by the Hesperan constitution. This might charitably be regarded as an oversight but the fact remains that any signs of organised religion on Galen are regarded as cultism and hence with suspicion, if not hostility. Individual spiritualism may be regarded as anything from eccentricity to outright delusion. Technically this situation applies to homosexuality and ethnic minorities as they too are only covered by the vague "banning of exploitation of social groups" clause in the constitution but in practice the prevailing outlook on Galen is much more open to different races or sexual practices than it is to differing forms of spirituality.

Plot hooks: Due to its strong media and interest in justice, particularly controversial trials are preferred to have juries consisting of new immigrants or travellers as they are deemed to be the least influenced by the reporting of the case. Some trials are held up until such a jury can be formed. The right to a speedy trial is also not guaranteed on Galen and, as a beaureacracy, its judicial wheels grind slow and fine. The rewards for being on such a jury are commensurate with the inconvenience incurred but the penalties for breaking a subpoena on a planet as dedicated to formal justice as this one can be severe....

With the exception of its medical and biological expertise, Galen is only at Tech Level 7 as its small population does not support or require a heavy industrial base. Specifically, Galen does not itself have the technology to support interstellar travel and has a small fleet of ships which are maintained by offworld technicians. Consequently, rewards for ferrying individual passengers to or from Galen can be high. A typical passenger may be a government official or diplomat, a scientist or technician with access to knowledge which doesn't exist in Galen's highly specialised society or a wealthy individual who wishes to travel for business or leisure purposes.