Aegi

Descendants of mankind, the Aegi now reside on planet Elithia. They lead the Elithian Alliance - an interstellar federation of alien nations - and make for incredible diplomats, engineers and scientists.

The Aeginian Federal Union (AFU for short), more commonly known as the Aeginian Union or simply as the Union, is a federal republic located primarily on the planet of Elithia, where it spans approximately half the planet. A number of colonies on other planets are also part of the Union. The Union is one of the founding bodies of the Elithian Alliance, and is considered one of the largest and most powerful of its members. The Union's majority species is the Aegi - its founding species - though an increased amount of Dremetons, Hymid, Notix and members of various other species have become Union citizens.

The Aeginian Federal Union has a flag as well, it's pretty basic but it works. It has other official symbols and icons as well, but as far as flags go, this is the official one. The flag represents a unity as well, but between nature (green), the sky and the space beyond (blue) and the Aeginian society (white).

For the Alliance as a whole it's hard to say - there's many nations, some small and some large - but the Aeginian Federal Union has a total population of about 51 billion. A very large chunk of that population lives on Elithia, the Union's home planet. Don't have any exact numbers yet, but that world alone is home to at least 30-40% of the population. There's also several billion living on Hyzolia, the second largest colony and home world of one of the closest allies of the Aegi: the Hymid. The Elithian moons, Laena and Vaeda, are each home to at least a million residents. Then there's the other colonies, of which there are several dozen in total, more if you count all of the tiny outposts, spacestations and such spread across Union space.

Some of the colonies are quite large, but most are relatively small. I'd say the average population of a large colony would be about a hundred thousand, but some are much smaller, and a few much larger. The large ones are generally quite old, and have a lot of time to grow their populations. The Union first colonized another planet some 562 years ago, so other colonies might be as old as 550 years, though most are much younger. New colonies on habitable worlds usually start out with about ten thousand residents, which is the average population of a colony fleet. But populations grow naturally over time, and popular colonies have a constant influx of new colonists.

History
The Elithian Alliance roleplay takes place several hundreds of years into the future. In the original roleplay, Earth was hit by a massive asteroid, and the Aegi are descendants of the humans who fled Earth. The remaining human population didn't survive for long after the asteroid's impact, and the human race had gone functionally extinct.

The ancestors of the Aegi fled Earth when humans were still very early in their exploration of space. In the THEA canon, those ancestors would have fled Earth maybe a hundred years from our current (in-real-life) time period. Space exploration would have been limited to the Solar System and possibly one or two nearby stars, but they had no knowledge of other intelligent life at that point.

In the THEA canon, Earth was hit with the full force of the asteroid's impact, and much of humanity was wiped out on impact. There were survivors, but these didn't last very long (the planet was cast into an impact winter and resources quickly dwindled) and within a few decades, all human life on Earth had been rendered extinct. The only survivors of the human species were those on board the two Exodus fleets, called the Endurance Company and the Voyager Company.

The Endurance Company was the fleet that had set course for the planet that would later be named Elithia. They arrived on an alien world much like Earth, and settled the planet. These humans eventually became known as the Aegi, which you see in the mod. They were given this name by the Dremeton, an alien species native to Elithia, as it translates to "friend" in the Dremetonian language. Contact with the Voyager Company was lost a few years into the interstellar journey, and no trace of that fleet has ever been found. They're not at the planet they were meant to colonize, and have been considered missing for centuries.

A few nuclear attacks may have happened, but there was no large-scale nuclear war. The asteroid impact threw so much dirt, dust and ash into the air that the entire planet got covered in thick clouds for several years, preventing sunlight from reaching the surface, and causing the death of many plants, then animals, and eventually humans. Most nations were too preoccupied with their own survival to fight large-scale wars with others.

They were genetically altered during the flight to Elithia, to prepare them for a potentially less hospitable planet.

The journey from Earth to Elithia doesn't have an exact timeframe right now, but it definitely took a few centuries. There was some use of cryosleep on the ships, but usually only for a few decades at a time - none of the original crews made it to Elithia, only their descendants (who were genetically modified into the modern-day Aegi) did.

Elithia turned out to be very close to Earth in terms of environments, but the enhancements were still extremely useful for surviving the years after the (crash)landing on Elithia, and for adjusting to the slightly higher gravity and somewhat altered air composition.

Internal sentiments, that was before they met any of the other races of the Alliance. They had only had some encounters with the still primitive Dremeton at that point, but there hadn't been any communication between the two species as they didn't yet understand each other. The Aegi decided to change many of the old human traditions and habits as Terra had gotten pretty polluted by the time they arrived on Elithia, and with such a small group and a new planet, they were finally able to really start over and fix some of the mistakes of their ancestors.

The Alliance has thus far been able to prevent infighting. Excluding the wars with the Craton, who had signed the Elithian Code (the predecessor of the Alliance) and broke the agreements. No significant ones amongst the members of the Alliance, though there were small conflicts within some of the nations.

The Alliance started with the first interactions between the Aegi (who were still called humans back then) and the Dremeton (who are native to Elithia). At first, the two species had some conflicts, and the matter of how to deal with the Dremeton split the human faction in two. The cities of Creon and Lonro were built by the two human sides, and that original split is why the Union grew into a federation and not a single state. When the inhabitants of Creon finally started making progress on cooperating with the Dremeton, Lonro eventually joined with Creon again to form the Aeginian Federal Union. The Aegi and Dremeton later signed a common set of laws, the Elithian Code, which the Craton ended up signing too. When the Craton eventually assaulted Aeginian and Dremetonian transport - breaking the code - the Aegi and Dremeton started working together even more closely, and thus the Elithian Alliance was born. They continued to engage in conflicts with the Craton, but eventually encountered other alien species (like the Hymid) and managed to secure friendly relations with them very early on.

There are plenty of well-known people throughout the Union's history. The Union is only a few hundred years old and hasn't been in many massive conflicts, so there hasn't been much time nor opportunity for legends to rise.

Biology
The Aegi are a species of humanoids descended from the Humans of ancient Terra. They appear largely similar to Humans, but have a few key differences. The majority of these differences are effects of the extensive genetic engineering the Aegi performed on themselves during their flight from Earth to Elithia.

The Aegi are a tad smaller than many people in modern countries. That's partially because of the gene pool that the humans took with them to Elithia, but also in part due to the genetic enhancements that were made to the colonists. Which might be a good thing, since Elithia has a slightly higher gravity which would make taller builds just a little harder to maintain. These enhancements had many odd side-effects which weren't fully expected, including the pointed ears and the shorter overall stature. There's still plenty of taller Aegi - 1.70 meters is only the average - but the majority is a little on the short side compared to some modern populations.

All Aeginian races feature larger ears with pointier tips. The length of the ears is one of the most identifying features of the various races. The ears are also more mobile than those of ancient Humans: they can be raised, lowered, and pointed in a specific direction to better locate sounds. The pointed shape of the ears was a side-effect of these changes, and was never intentional. Many found it fitting, however, and no efforts were ever made to eliminate this side-effect.

In addition to improvements to their hearing, the Aegi have genetically enhanced their other senses too. Their vision is sharper, their hands more sensitive, and their sense of smell has seen slight improvements as well.

There's some Aegi who suffer from less than optimal eyesight, but it's certainly not as common of an issue, and usually the issues aren't too bad either. The lifestyle and genetic enhancements of the Aegi have significantly improved their health and capabilities. There's some degradation in the eyes over time too, but not as much as there is in modern humans. Other issues like hearing problems also still occur, but again at reduced rates.

That being said, glasses can be more than just a way to fix bad eyesight! They can be a fashion item, and almost all glasses have some additional technology built into them. Many can display some type of Head-Up Display, or enhance vision in some other way. There's sunglasses too, of course, and other types of glasses that add some type of protection.

The oxygen-binding proteins in the blood of Aegi is also slightly different  from that of Humans. Aegi can bind oxygen more effectively, and can carry more of it in their blood, allowing them to breathe in lower-oxygen environments and slightly increasing the amount of time they can spend underwater.

Aeginian bone structure has been modified to be stronger, but also slightly more flexible than that of Humans. Aeginian bones break less easily, and improvements to the body’s healing capabilities means that broken bones mend quicker. The same improvements allow other wounds to heal quicker, and in some cases, Aegi have even been noted to grow back lost fingers and toes.

Finally, due to changes in both the Aegi’s physiology and culture, the average lifespan of an Aegi is more than double that of a Human, averaging at around 200 standard years. Stem cells are continuously generated, allowing faster recovery from wounds, and allowing the regeneration of lost limbs in some cases.

The Aegi reach physical maturity at approximately the same age - though perhaps a little later - but thanks to their increased regenerative capabilities their bodies don't age as fast after having reached physical maturity. They stay in their prime for much longer, and it takes much longer for them to start suffering from common elderly issues.

They stuck to the old tradition of considering the age of 18 adulthood. There have been some physiological changes to the Aegi, and they can grow a lot older now, but they still mature at the same rate as humans did. Biological adulthood might not be exactly 18 years, but the Aegi simply stuck to the old traditions. As for retirement age, many Aegi never retire as they love working (and there is far less stress involved in it for them) Some choose to stop working somewhere between 150-200 years old (200 is the average lifespan for them), but most will simply continue doing what they love until they are no longer physically able to do so.

Aegi (or theoretically a human) would likely die from viruses of Kadavan, as would most alien species. This applies to any new viruses that'd be encountered when dealing with alien races and worlds.

Aeginian regeneration can regrow lost fingers and toes, and sometimes even lost limbs, but the extent of natural regeneration varies from person to person. A face could also regenerate to some degree, but it'll remain scarred as it won't regrow perfectly. Aeginian medical technology can restore a face very well though.

The Aegi walk a little more lightly than humans, but not by very much.

They do consider themselves a new species! A name such as "Homo Elithis" might fit. The name would likely have been created prior to their arrival on Elithia (and their receiving of the name "Aegi", so names based on that are unlikely) but the name for the planet was already picked on the journey there and so the ancestors of the Aegi could already name the newly created species of humans.

The Aegi suffer from many of the same things that modern humans experience, though they generally have far better treatments for true disabilities like depression and Alzheimer's. Alzheimer's is mostly eliminated, but something like depression is impossible to eliminate entirely. Things like autism and ADHD still exist too, though they aren't necessarily treated like a disability. Union society instead tries to accommodate for the needs of these people, giving them assistance where needed but mostly trying to focus on the positive aspects.

Things like depression are common in almost all of the modern species, with some being better at treating them than others. Alzheimer's-like conditions don't occur in all species, but most do experience similar issues (and again have different levels of treatment for it). Autism-like symptoms are common in some species too, and where those exact symptoms are not found other psychological or neurological issues tend to replace them.

General
In general, the Aegi are pretty humble, but still confident in their own abilities. They see themselves as capable diplomats and know that they have been incredibly influential in interstellar society, but it hasn't made them arrogant There are always exceptions, though, and some groups of Aegi are more arrogant or may even have feelings of superiority over other species. In general though, their long history of failures and successes has kept the Aegi relatively humble.

They have a few greetings and/or salutes, but the most common one is to hold the right hand over one's chest, with the left arm held besides the body. For formal greetings, this is often accompanied with a short nod of the head (and a quick closing of the eyes). There are also formal variations where the right hand is instead held behind one's back, but that isn't as widespread.

The Aegi believe in freedom, democracy, shared wealth and overall social equality.

A lot of the things that are seen as immoral right now are still considered the same by the Aegi: racism, poor treatment of the less fortunate etc. Acts that are detrimental to other people and the society, such as use of drugs (especially ones involving smoke or which cause erratic behaviour) are also considered foully, much more so than in our modern society.

Overall, such cosmetic body mods are accepted, so long as they are relatively subtle. Tattoos, piercings etc. are generally accepted, but there are those who go too far and make non-genetic modifications with a variety of implants.In general, implants are looked down upon, while additions to the skin (like tattoos and small piercings) are alright to most Aegi.

Prosthetics (for medical reasons) are fully accepted, only things like the weaponized versions found in black markets are looked down upon. However, Aeginian bio-tech is advanced enough to replace lost limbs in many cases, so prosthetics aren't always needed. The original changes to their physiology have also given them enhanced natural healing, so while a lost limb won't fully regrow, a lost fingertip might.

They celebrate the anniversary of their landing on Elithia, which also coincides with the start of the new year. Aptly named Landing day. There'll also be a holiday for the Unification Day (the anniversary of the foundation of the Union, when Creon and Lonro reunited), and a day to celebrate the formation of the Elithian Code.

The Landing Festival is essentially a conglomeration of Christmas, New Year's, Sinterklaas (the Dutch holiday event that Christmas is partially based on) and other winter holidays. The festival celebrates the start of every new year, and Landing Day is the final day of this event (and the final day of the Elithian year) It celebrates the day the ancestors of the Aegi first landed on Elithia. Canonically, the Landing Festival doesn't line up perfectly with traditional Christmas - which isn't celebrated by the Aegi any more, as it's been partially integrated into the Landing Festival.

The journey to Elithia has mixed up a lot of holidays and other customs, so there are elements of a lot of different cultures to be found in modern Aeginian society. The Hallowing is an Aeginian equivalent of Halloween. They have a variant of Christmas too.(which got mixed up with other holidays, such as the Dutch Sinterklaas holiday)

Parts of ancient Earth culture are preserved in Aeginian culture: their historical records are just as comprehensive as ours, so all of that knowledge can still be found in libraries and on their networks. Dance styles are preserved as well, and still practiced in small groups, but most of society has moved on to more modern styles. Those are often influenced by the ancient styles, however (which also include our modern styles - those are quite ancient by Aeginian standards). Ancient fashion is mostly a fantasy theme, though influences can still be found in modern Aeginian fashion (which is incredibly varied, with styles from many regions and colonies). Medieval themes are still quite popular in Aeginian media, especially in fantasy. It's a trend that still hasn't died.

The Union draws a lot of inspiration from old myths and legends of their human ancestors, and the Arthurian legend is particularly popular. All of the Union's dreadnoughts have been named after characters, items or locations from Arthurian legend, and those names have also been used for a bunch of other things. (such as that shieldblade) The Union's dreadnought are the M-ASA Avalon, M-ASA Camelot and M-ASA Excalibur for those curious.

The Aegi obviously have weddings, and the Hymid have adopted the practice as well, although their ceremonies will be different from those of the Aegi. Same-sex marriage is nothing unusual in the Union: it's fully accepted by society, though there'll always be some small percentage of the population that resists the idea. The same goes for inter-species marriage: it's (almost) fully accepted and perfectly legal. Aegi-Hymid pairs are especially common as far as inter-species marriages go.

There's still some pride events, but not as many since LGBT concerns have mostly vanished and the various sexualities have all been accepted as normal at this point. There certainly are still some groups that disagree - one'll always find these in such large communities, much like how there still is some xenophobia - but the general population hardly considers sexuality an issue anymore. It's mostly local events and some yearly global events, which might still be relatively large in scope, but they are just some of the countless events that the Aegi organise every year. Aeginian LGBT communities do still use very colourful flags.

They do go on vacations sometimes. Creon City is a very popular choice, as it's a beautiful, green city that acts as the heart of both the Union and often the Alliance as a whole, but the various island groups in the Aequitian Ocean are popular too. The Farline Isles especially would be a popular spot, but the various Tyrian Isles are also popular. Elithia is just as varied as Earth though, so there's beautiful places of all sorts all over the planet. The northern and southern tips of the Aegonian mainland would be good for that, or else the Icilian Island. There's a few mountain ranges in Aegonia and other continents which might be good for a winter vacation too. Aegi still practice skiing.

Aeginian sports are largely undefined yet. There's new kinds of racing, like hoverbike, sports hovercar (like the Aventor Galliot) and spaceship racing, but there'll be new physical sports as well. Aegonian had some ideas for a sport in which magnets were used to catch and repel a metal ball or puck, but he's said that the concept is still very vague.

They do make pottery. Usually forms of clay are used, or types of ceramic. They're quite popular as decoration.

Haven't defined too many things about their different pastimes yet, but the Aegi do have plenty of social media-like platforms which they love to interact with. Holo-Me - a place for sharing holographic recordings and projections - is one of the more popular platforms, but there's dozens of active platforms. The Aegi also love sports, some that are slightly adapted versions of modern sports like soccer and hockey, while others are entirely new. I've yet to work these out in great detail, but one popular sport could be described as multi-team electromagnetic ice hockey, where multiple teams try to score points using magnetic pucks and slings. They also have lots of movies, shows, theatre, games (physical and digital) and far more. One other very popular sport involves racing in outer space, using special high-speed spacecraft that have to travel through a series of rings.

Aeginian cuisine is an odd mix of modern human cuisines - western, Asian, African and many more all mixed together over the years - along with plenty of new foods native to Elithia. They don't eat a lot of meat, but they do consume some meat on an often weekly basis. Most of this meat is lab-grown rather than harvested from live animals. The Aegi have a great love of fruits, too! Some native Earth fruits and vegetables have survived the trip to Elithia and were genetically modified to not be harmful to Elithian ecosystems, but new fruits like the vahlberries are very popular too. Bread is very common in their cuisine too, most of it made using loftgrain, a genetically modified fast-growing grain. And of course the mellowroot, a very watery lettuce-like crop native to Elithia. There's also the borato, a potato-like plant that's great for making chips and fries and the like. A type of pizza is also common! On board spaceships and in many colonies, the cuisine is often more limited, since foods need to be grown in smaller, more artificial spaces. Some colonies have also adopted foods native to other alien planets, but these aren't always safe so most Aeginian colonies take a lot of crops with them and consume a lot of laboratory-grown food. The Aegi don't hunt for meat, nor do they grow livestock - they believe such use of animal products to be unethical. They aren't fully vegetarian either - they grow artificial meat - but they don't consume meat very often. Artificial meat in this instance refers to lab-grown meat. It's technically exactly the same meat you'd normally eat, but without the need for killing any animals since the cells are all lab-grown. The Kelbet are also such a common sight in Aeginian settlements that they've become an important aspect of the natural aesthetic of their cities, and so harming the Kelbet in any way is forbidden. They changed a lot of things after landing on Elithia and founding Creon City, and to stop hunting was one of those changes. The specific bans on Kelbet venison and hide came later, but the founding of Creon City is where all of that really started.

Hotbröd is a folded piece of bread, with a fruit or somewhat vegetable-like substance inside. The actual secret ingredient is part of a special type of alien plant, but I imagine something like cherries and strawberries might come close to their taste. The bread is also always served warm and freshly baked. Hotbröd was partially inspired by the appelflap. Though the hotbröd's bread is a bit softer than what you find on an appelflap, which is often more crunchy.

Fashion
The Union is a big place with a lot of people in it, so there's also a good variety of styles that have become popular in the Union. Some of the styles we wear today are still popular - simple t-shirts are common, for example - but a lot of it is quite different too. The mod doesn't fully reflect this sadly (partially due to the difficulty in adding details in these sprites), but the Aegi often wear long, flowing clothing, or wear designs with sharp angles and various materials woven into the clothing to create shiny accents and unusual contrasts. Cloaks are also common again, and there's a lot of unusual accessories being worn. A lot of clothing also has some technology integrated into it, and it can often interface with other technology too. There's integrated lights and shifting patterns, as well as integrated wiring for music systems (no more wired earphones, it's often all part of the outfit now) and the like. Also lots of asymmetrical designs. Those are just as common as symmetrical clothes in the Union.

Full-on skirts are usually still considered a bit feminine, but some forms of skirts have been integrated into a lot of gender-neutral clothing. Things like the toga have also made a return in parts of the Union, so you'll see men wearing longer skirt-like clothing too. In a lot of cases, the gender-neutral skirts are asymmetrical, or are only really longer pieces of cloth on the sides of the legs as opposed to being fully enclosed.

Almost all materials used by the fashion industry are fully recyclable or otherwise environmentally safe. The Union government enforces some very strict rules on this. There is a very minimal amount of waste that does get produced each year, mostly from integrated electronics and the like, but this is such a minimal amount that it has no noticeable impact. Such waste is handled carefully by the Union, and never makes its way into the environment: if waste cannot be recycled in any way, it is stored in a safe location (which in many cases is actually off-world, preferably on a lifeless uninhabited planet).

Music
Their music is quite diverse, much like modern human music. Instruments like guitars (both acoustic and electric), drums, keyboards etc. also fit the Aegi very well. The calming, trance-like instrumental (and sometimes vocal) music is likely their most well-known, genre, but they have music of all kinds.

Religion
The Aegi don't have an official religion, and the vast majority of people in it is atheist. There are a few small religious groups, but none of them have any mainstream popularity. Religion is one of the things they largely gave up on when they fled Terra and landed on Elithia, though there are still a few religious minorities. Mostly remnants of old Terran faiths, but there's a few that originated in other alien cultures too. (like one of the Hymidian religions that worships the Centens, much like the Avikan do) The AFU has religious freedom as well, although some states do not allow public religious practice nor religious preaching in public spaces. The AFU has no global laws against these things, but there's quite a few states that do have their own laws concerning religious practice. The Union offers religious freedom for the most part. There just aren't many who use that freedom. There are quite a few Aegi who look down on religion too, but that's not the majority of the population.

The Aegi haven't really developed any new mythology after they left Earth, though a few small religions/cults have formed (such as cults worshipping the Centens, or even the Theleans). These have always stayed very small and mostly insignificant though, as the Aegi are very non-religious overall.

Language
The Aegi use an evolved version of English, but within the RP and the mod, regular English is usually used so people can fully understand what's going on. Elithian English - called Common Elithian - is largely similar to modern-day English, but there'll be new words and changes to words and pronunciations and such.

Common Elithian is a language shared by most of the nations in the Elithian Alliance, but only because the Aegi introduced it to the other species. First contact is usually rocky, since aliens won't understand Common Elithian initially, and it takes years for other nations to really start to understand the language. There are translators, which are often used by species incapable of producing human sounds, but these translators need to be calibrated to new languages first - it won't translate newly discovered alien speech on its own There is a bit of an interstellar written language, or at least alphabet, though: Centensian. The Centens left their ruins and writings on so many worlds throughout the galaxy that many alien species now use it as their own alphabet too. The Theleans are the prime example for this, and the Centensian alphabet is used throughout the entire Dominion.

The Aeginian language is primarily based on English - this was the official language on board the colony ships of the Voyager and Endurance Companies. Both ships did carry plenty of multilingual people, however, and these have had some effects on the development of the language. Alien languages have also affected the language of the Aegi: Aegi, for example, is derived from a Dremeton word. Hotbröd is a mix of English (hot) and Swedish (bröd = bread), though that's more of a marketing name. This kind of language mixing is largely common in the Union, though. In general, the language hasn't changed too much and with knowledge of modern English you'd be able to understand most of the Aeginian language too. There's a lot of specific words which have been borrowed from alien languages though, and plenty of words have evolved a bit, but in general it's still very much like English with some extra flair.

Education
There's a lot of variation there, since the Alliance is massive and there's no common laws pertaining to alien interaction in education. In the Union, most - but not all - schools are mixed. Aegi are obviously the majority, but most classes have some Hymid, Dremeton and sometimes Notix, Jorgasians etc. in them. There's also Aegi-only classes, and a number of Aegi-only schools, though that's because there's just no other species around to fill the classrooms of those schools. However, there's always some level of alien interaction, through exchanges, excursions and more. The Union wants its children to grow up in an environment where they are exposed to many different alien species, to make interaction with those species easier in the future. In the Hymidian Republic of Hyzolia, classes have a majority of Hymid in them, but there's countless Aegi living amongst them and so almost every class features both Hymid and Aegi. Other species aren't as common on Hyzolia, but the schools ensure that children learn about and meet other species too. That can be through exchanges and excursions, but there's also alien teachers and other professionals who can make an appearance.

Architecture
A lot of Union architecture is modular, especially on the colonies. Cities on Elithia - especially the larger, older ones - make far less use of modular architecture, and you actually see a greater variety of materials being used too. Brick and concrete buildings are still found there too. They certainly use biomimetic architecture as well. There's certainly buildings that are built to resemble organisms though, such as skyscrapers built to use internal (and external) structures similar to those of certain plants, and this can be found it in many smaller designs too.

One of their building types are modular homes, which are commonly found in colonies and the outskirts of larger Elithian cities. It's also not uncommon for Aeginian families to have two or more of those modular homes with multiple rooms in them, so one could have bedrooms in them, and the other a living room/kitchen etc.

While they do have prisons, they are definitely more focused on rehabilitation, but they still have a number of high-security prisons. They're mostly penal spacestations, from which escape is pretty much impossible. Most prisons are well-maintained, and offer a decent level of comfort to the inmates. Those prisons focus on rehabilitation too, trying to rehabilitate inmates with therapy, counselling and a lot of help, but the prisons aren't paradise. There's still little personal freedom and a lot of rules to follow, and sentences can still be long to properly punish committed crimes. Prisons in the colonies are generally a little less well-maintained, and they don't always have the resources for all those rehabilitation therapies and such.

There's also a number of extremely high-security prisons for criminals who prove incapable of rehabilitating, often repeatedly committing serious crimes without regret. These prisons are spaceborne: they are specialized space stations built for holding dangerous criminals. It's nearly impossible to escape from one of these prisons, as they only way out would be by a smaller spaceship which aren't always docked at the station, and which are guarded very carefully.

Many do have their own homes, but many live in apartments and the like too. It's mostly a personal choice: those wishing to live near the big economic center of a large city likely have smaller homes in high-rise buildings, but move away from the center a bit and you'll find more proper houses too. Even more so in smaller cities, of course, but the large cities have plenty of houses too.

The Aegi integrate plantlife into their architecture a lot, with potted plants inside and grass and trees growing on top of roofs, and military buildings would often follow that same design. The Aegi believe that vicinity to plants is good for health, so soldiers too should be able to enjoy them. Every soldier is also allowed to decorate their personal quarters as they see fit, as long as it doesn't interfere with military operations. Most military facilities have some dedicated entertainment halls too, which feature room to play sports, videogames, and literature. The mental health of soldiers is quite important to the Union military.

Stone and wood are still used by the Aegi, too. Stone (or rather concrete in most cases) is a very common building material in the Union, and it's far improved over our modern day concrete. Wood is very rare as a construction material, but wooden furniture and decorations are still frequent. The Aegi are careful not to use too much wood, and certainly don't have any massive deforestation areas like we do, but they do carefully select and grow trees for harvesting.

Union concrete certainly cracks far more rarely, though they haven't eliminated the issue entirely, it hardly is one for them anymore, though.

Crime treatment
The Aegi mostly try to rehabilitate criminals, and usually this is effective. They have a lot of rehabilitation centers with highly trained professionals, something other nations in the Alliance sometimes envy. More serious crimes often results in imprisonment, either in high-quality planetside prisons, or in extreme cases in high security prison stations out in the void of space. These are nigh impossible to escape from. Criminals who prove incapable of rehabilitation and repeat their crimes over and over, and who are judged a poor fit for the prison system, may also be exiled from the Union: they are allowed to migrate to other nations in the Alliance, or to live out their lives in the Rim, but they have to give up their Union citizenship. They are allowed to return every once in a while to visit family and friends, but always under observation.

General
Allosteel is made of ferroverium, iron and carbon, with very minor amounts of some other minerals, it's and incredibly fine-tuned alloy, that's used in vast majority of Alliance technology.

Personal transportation isn't quite as common in the Union as it is for us, most Union citizens use public transport (which is free) to get around. They use a ton of trains and tram-like vehicles, shuttles like the ASA-26 Ranger for trips into orbit, and for personal transportation, hoverbikes are more common than cars The Aegi have a variety of hovering and flying vehicles, but wheeled vehicles are also still used. (like the truck found in the Starbound mod)

The Alliance Network is an internet-like system available throughout the entire Alliance. There's a couple of space stations in each Alliance system which are responsible for connecting all planets with one another, but they can sometimes malfunction, causing system-wide outages.

The Aegi have highly advanced medical technology and are generally able to eliminate new viruses within a few years of them popping up. New viruses rise every now and then, but there hasn't been a major outbreak for a long time. Interaction with other aliens is often the leading cause of new outbreaks, though the fact that alien biology is often so different many viruses aren't able to replicate in other aliens at all.

Genetic alteration is looked down upon by the Aegi, even though it was used to prepare the Aegi for their arrival on Elithia. That's mostly because some groups went too far in their genetic enhancements: minor alterations are still made at times to prepare colonists for specific worlds, but these changes are usually minor physiological changes to allow for better survival in different atmospheres. Some groups tried to overhaul themselves completely, abandoning all resemblance to the Aeginian legacy, and this caused a public distaste of the practice. The Aegi have the technology to create "super-soldiers", for example, but are morally opposed to it and instead prefer the use of exosuits to enhance their soldier's capabilities. (since these are enhancements that anyone can receive at any time, and don't divide the population into different groups) The Aegi don't want to repeat the many wars of their human predecessors, so they try to maintain their unity and equality at all times. All genetic technologies are the domain of the scientific division, S-ASA.

Some forms of bio-technology that are used frequently are in medicine and food production. The Aegi have a lot of lab-grown meat (it's much more common than live meat, though meat in general isn't quite as prevalent anymore). They have also greatly developed their medical practices, and can create new medicine and vaccines much more efficiently than we currently can. There's also been a lot of genetic manipulation in other lifeforms - especially in crops - to protect them from pests and disease and ensure a reliable source of food for the Union.

There are some vat-grown limbs and such. The Union often offers these instead of prosthetic limbs in case of limb loss and the like. The laboratories where these are created are generally owned by ASA (i.e. the government), and they only work on demand. They use the DNA of the client to grow these limbs, so they are as close to the original as possible. Of course, some illegal labs have popped up offering enhanced body parts, but these are generally swiftly shut down.

The Aeginian Federal Union uses a variety of large mechs in ground-based operations, but they're not humanoid in shape. The Aeginian mechs are generally focused on mobility, as that's their primary advantage over tanks and the like, Something like the Mammoth could exist as an exception to the rule, but generally the Aegi wouldn't bother with similar models.

They make good use of robotics, yeah, but they don't have many advanced AIs (there are strict laws concerning the creation of true AIs) and very few androids. They use a lot of drones in transport and other fields, and there's robots in maintenance and housekeeping, as well as construction and in medical facilities. Creating a Trink-like AI wouldn't generally be allowed in the Aeginian Federal Union, and many other Alliance nations have modelled their laws after those of the AFU.

There are some military robots too. These are mostly small robots which are meant to operate in places too dangerous or otherwise incompatible with living soldiers, and oftentimes they are either remotely controlled or controlled by a very basic AI with no ability to learn and improve itself. They are often used for surveillance and espionage, as you can built extremely small robots that are difficult to detect. Robots are also used in firefighting and similar situations, where the durability of robots really shines.

Other races can use similar technologies to prevent enemies from using their technology, but it's not a very common sight. The Alliance practically never uses such technologies as it's often focused on creating technology that's equally usable by all members of the Alliance.

The kinetic Enerth Engineering toothbrush. There's a single line of random dialog about that one. (In Starbound mod) It's a toothbrush that doesn't have traditional bristles, but instead uses compressed air and sound (beyond the Aegi's hearing range) to clean the teeth. The vibrations are very short-lived and don't travel far, but they are specifically tuned to loosen up the plaque and such. Compressed air is then used to clean up the loosened plaque. It's a pretty popular product in the Union, and the latest model by Enerth Engineering is especially effective.

Weapons
An Aevis (another word for shieldblade) that was crafted in honour of the Taemera family, an Aeginian family known for having had multiple presidents and other members of the government. It was also the family of the first Aeginian leader after their arrival on Elithia, so the name holds great value to Aeginian society. It has a Xanafian Shard embedded in the blade - like the Vha'leihan Spear - which is very rare in the Alliance. The name of the weapon obviously came from Arthurian legend, one of the most popular ancient legends known to the Aegi. They have named every one of their dreadnoughts after places, items and people from Arthurian legend, and the name seemed fitting for this weapon too.

Shields in THEA are electromagnetic fields that can deflect 'projectiles' from energy weapons (such as plasma or laser weapons). Ships would generally also be equipped with a type of force shield that acts as a barrier for space debris and asteroids, but which are only able to slow down physical projectiles - not stop them completely. Instead, most ships (especially warships) are equipped with thick ferroverium plating to protect against attacks, and larger ships (especially the Alliance dreadnoughts) have several layers of this plating for further protection. Most ships use railguns as their primary weapon, firing kinetic projectiles at incredible speeds, since energy weapons are useless against the electromagnetic shields.

The plasma bullets fired by Alliance weaponry (or at least those developed by the Aegi) are a mix of both. The projectiles are called plasma shells, and they are physical bullets much like the ones fired by modern firearms. There's the actual bullet, the propellant, the primer etc., but the big difference is that the bullet itself ejects extremely hot plasma as it flies. The bullet surrounds itself in this field of hot plasma, which gives the projectile the benefit of both kinetic weapons (kinetic impact, penetration of electromagnetic shields) and energy weapons (incendiary effects, burning or melting targets)

Sometimes these projectiles are fired using eletromagnetic rails or coils rather than explosive propellants (making the weapons coilguns or railguns), but those are less common due to increased production costs and increased energy usage. The electromagnetic propulsion does increase the projectile velocity greatly, increasing kinetic damage, and also cuts down the cost of individual bullets, so it's a bit of a balancing game.

There are a couple of things like bioweapons that are seen as too cruel for use in battle, and using dreadnoughts to destroy ground-based settlements is also off the charts (it causes just as much, if not more, damage as nuclear weapons, which are also outlawed in some situations).

The Aegi have done a bit of experimentation with arm-mounted weaponry, but it hasn't led to any standard-issue weapons. In general, it was found to be too inconvenient since the larger ones prevent you from using your hand for other tasks, and the smaller ones (that don't cover your entire hand) generally don't offer enough advantages over regular firearms. That being said, a few of the more specialized combat suits of the Aegi do feature small weapons integrated into the lower arms, like flamethrowers, grappling hooks or small auto-guns.

For personal firearms, the most devastating weapons are likely railguns and particle accelerators, which fire their projectiles at such incredible velocities that anything hit by the projectile can get vaporized. Not all railguns are this powerful: many of the standard-issue weapons in M-ASA are technically weaker railguns or coilguns, but the largest of these pack a punch that could easily take down smaller ships.

All of the different weapons manufacturers are part of either M-ASA or I-ASA.

The bows are certainly not for hunting: most are actually for sports and recreation. There's usually more potent stealth weapons than bows - silenced guns, for example - but some troops do prefer using bows. Ammunition is reusable once retrieved, ammunition is also highly customizable since arrow shape, size and weight is much more flexible than rifle cartridges, and with modern technologies bows are actually surprisingly powerful. They're also a lot cheaper than most other stealth weapons, although they have downsides like physical size and firing speed too. M-ASA offers soldiers a lot of freedom in the weapons its soldiers use, and while bows aren't a common choice, there are troops and some units that do frequently use them.

Spacecraft
The current military focus is on spaceships (sometimes with atmospheric flight capabilities too) as most warfare is now between interstellar nations, but ground troops are still important in some conflicts, and heavy combat vehicles still play a major role in ground combat. The Alliance has a variety of tanks and mechs, as well as artillery vehicles and various other kinds of combat vehicles.

Aegi have only three dreadnoughts, (and a fourth under construction) They've helped the Hymid build their first one. The Alliance dreadnoughts all have a main weapon which is a railgun spanning almost the entire length of the ship, hence their ultimate destructive power. As for the restrictions on navies, the old Charter of the Alliance only had a restriction on dreadnoughts and other weapons of mass destruction (one dreadnought per nation, except for the council nations who are permitted up to five). (The charter system is outdated though, Aegonian will rewrite it.)

M-ASA Excalibur is the Union's largest dreadnought. The ship is also equipped with a railgun, but at several kilometers long the massive projectiles have a lot of time to accelerate to even greater velocities. This dreadnought was built with a single purpose in mind: ultimate destructive power, allowing the ship to cripple most other types of dreadnoughts in a single hit, and outright destroy anything smaller it hits. It could technically also be used to attack a settlement, outpost or other target on a planet's surface, but the Alliance has outlawed such tactics as they are even more destructive as nuclear weaponry.

It is stationed in the Gar-Aeroix by default, yeah, but isn't a permanent part of the home defence system. That's the task of the First Union Fleet, a relatively large fleet permanently stationed at the Gar-Aeroix which will, under no circumstances, leave the system. The Excalibur is part of its own fleet (the Excalibur Fleet), which primarily defends the system but can also be sent out as a last resort during conflicts, or as a tool of intimidation if needed. Such occurrences are extremely rare, however, as the fleet as rarely left the system and hasn't been mobilized for a military action yet.

The Excalibur is the single largest ship in the entire Alliance navy. It's got a main weapon capable of crippling even Thelean dreadnoughts, but it's incredibly slow to maneuver. Avalon is the smallest of the three dreadnoughts, but it holds an incredible number of fighters and other small vessels. It's built as a support vessel rather than a vanguard vessel Camelot is sized somewhere between Avalon and Excalibur, but is the most maneuverable of the three. It's a true vanguard vessel, heading head-first into conflicts alongside it supporting fleet.

Command over any weapons of mass destruction is to be transferred to the Assembly and High Council, so that no Alliance nation will be able to use them without warning or consent from the other nations.

The Union also has a few experimental ships which use mobile jumpgate rings, but they too generally travel to stationary jumpgate rings. Most of those ships were lost because they warped into planets, stars, or other places there's no returning from.

A destroyer is a common battleship in the Alliance fleets.

The Elithian Alliance doesn't actually have its own navy, only its member states do. The collective navies of the Alliance members are often referred to as the Alliance navy, but all ships still belong to one of the member states For the Aegi, military spaceships carry the prefix M-ASA (the abbreviation for the military branch of the Aeginian Space Agency)

The First Union Fleet isn't the largest of the Union fleets in terms of spaceship count, but it is amongst the more powerful fleets. I haven't determined exact numbers yet, but it consists of dozens of destroyers, several carriers and thousands of fighters, along with various other vessels like frigates and automated defence turrets. The entire fleet is geared towards defense or offense, as the First Union Fleet is always stationed in orbit of Elithia as the last line of defense.

The Alliance special forces haven't been detailed yet, but there could easily be dozens of different types. There are special forces for operation on the ground, but there are specialized ships for spaceborne operations too (think stealth ships built to track enemy vessels, or small spaceships built for sabotaging enemy defensive installations).

The Alliance uses hyperdrives to traverse the galaxy, but even with that tech journeys can take years: unless they have a specific reason to visit a system, they'll likely not put in the effort given how risky venturing into unknown territory is. Alliance destroyers are usually up to 700 meters long, and don't need an additional hyperdrive. They do need very large and powerful drives, of course, but these generally suffice for bringing the entire ship into hyperspace. Dreadnoughts, which are at least 1 km in length, do sometimes need additional drives, or specialized drives that create elliptical gates. One can use multiple drives on a single ship, but this is risky: if they don't fire in a perfect sequence, they risk tearing their ship in half during the transition. At some point, however, even an elliptical drive won't suffice for a large ship anymore. This usually happens when they span at least a few kilometers in length, which is very rare for ships in the THEA universe.

The Union, and the Alliance by extension, has very strict rules about escape pods on board both civilian and military spaceships. These escape pods are always high-quality, and usually ships use one of a number of standard types for ease of production. Most of these escape pods have a steering mechanism inside, along with communication tools, and a rare few even have some FTL capabilities. (this is mostly for classified military vessels that can't risk exposing their positions even during an emergency)

The Aegi use aquaponics and hydroponics regularly to grow food on board spaceships, and to provide fresh oxygen and a nicer, greener feel to ships meant for long voyages. It makes the crew more relaxed when they are surrounded by nature rather than just cold hard metal and plastic. Many Elithian crops have even been genetically modified to be even better suited to growth on board spaceships.

Centensian tech
The Aegi have done a little bit of experimentation with Xanafian technology, but they haven't nearly reached the level of sophistication of the Avikan or Theleans. Hymid are a little more advanced, but still don't hold a candle to the Avikan.

Aeviri Armaments were one of the few (of the Alliance nations/factions) to ever use Xanafian Shards and other Centensian tech in their weapons. The other prototypes also used Xanafian Shards to power the weapon. Aeviri wanted to experiment with jumpfire weaponry as well, but never got the chance to do so. The Union can't build the types of jumpgates needed for such weapons themselves - only the Centens have ever managed to do so - and functional jumpweapon cores were too rare and dangerous to obtain. Void weaponry is even less understood than Xanafian and Jumpfire weapons, and while some experiments were done to try and imitate the weapons, no single prototype was ever successful. As for Aeviri's void weapon prototypes, they simply never functioned. The principles behind void weaponry are very poorly understood, and every attempt to replicate even parts of the weapons has failed. They didn't rip any holes in space, nor messed with gravity at all: when activated, they just didn't do anything other than overheat and burn up.

Factions
The army - which is significantly smaller than the navy - uses the same ranks and such, as it's seen as a subset of the M-ASA navy rather than as a standalone force.

Commanding officers usually wear green though their various ranks and their titles, colours etc. are yet to be formalized. High-ranking military personnel generally have diplomatic duties as well, and Lyiin Atmaera is an Admiral, one of the highest ranks attainable in the Union. He has plenty of diplomatic duties and often meets with high-ranking people from other nations, but in the Starbound storyverse, he's also the primary spokesperson because having too many different characters to speak with gets confusing and is a lot more work to create.

Most of the Aeginian populace has little to no combat training at all. There's no mandatory military service, but the AFU has enough voluntary military personnel to guard its planets and its people. The AFU does offer free combat training to civilians to prepare them for assaults, but these aren't mandatory and require an application process. You'll find plenty of civilians in Aeginian cities who have enough combat knowledge to defend themselves in case of an attack, but the majority of Aegi don't have any such experience.

Private military companies are illegal under AFU laws, but there are plenty of (relatively) large security companies that also have access to some near-military grade hardware. Those are tightly regulated though Various non-security companies also have their own minor security branch - Briggs Shipbuilding is probably the best example - so they can secure their operation sites without requiring the help of Union soldiers.

AAE stands for Advanced Aeginian Engineering, which is an organization that's responsible for a lot of Union technology. There are other manufacturers that compete with AAE on certain fronts, but AAE is definitely the largest. Others include ASA (Aeginian Space Agency), AEG-Corps (a special task force with its own technology labs), Enerth Engineering (which doesn't create weapons, but creates a lot of other Union tech), Bredon Arms, Stryker Smithing, Erito Security and more.

There's a lot of different manufacturers in the Union - and even more in the Alliance - and each of them has their own distinct design philosophy. Aventor focuses on sleek designs and powerful engines, creating sports vehicles that are fast and good-looking. Briggs Shipbuilding, on the other hand, generally creates large, bulky vehicles with thick hulls and little regard for aesthetics, focusing completely on function.

ASA - Aeginian Space Agency
The AFU's primary military force is M-ASA, which consists mostly of spaceships and the troops they carry. The ground forces are a subset of M-ASA though: there is a dedicated military ground force on Elithia, but it's very small and is assisted by M-ASA in any large ground-based wars.

It's the military branch of the ASA: Military-Aeginian Space Agency. The ASA was originally just a space agency, but it's overtaken many of the duties of other divisions and is now the largest government division. There's ASA, M-ASA, P-ASA (Public services - it includes police, firefighter and medical divisions), S-ASA (Scientific studies) and I-ASA (Industrial work and regulation) Essentially, almost all of Aeginian society is governed by the space agency.

Green is the colour of ASA, and because ASA is by far the most important agency in the Union - it comprises a massive part of the government, and its duties have extended well beyond those of the original space agency - green has become the default colour for Union officials of any kind. Light blue is the colour of the Alliance, and thus Alliance officials often wear light blue. Each ASA division has its own trademark colour, which is generally used as an accent on top of the standard green attire. Rank is depicted in a badge on the chest, a hat/cap or both, and sometimes by other accents on the uniform: high-ranking officers generally have gold accents on their uniform, for example. M-ASA generally wears green (with differently coloured accents) for non-combat personnel, while combat personnel wears colours better suited to their tasks. Sometimes that's black, sometimes it's camo: it depends on the situation. S-ASA used to be purple: it might become a shade of pruple again in the updated system, but it could also change depending on what colours work well with the main green.

S-ASA would usually have green uniforms with purple accents, but fully purple uniforms also exist. P-ASA is public services, including police forces, emergency/medical personnel, and firefighting. P-ASA is a bit unique amongst the various ASA divisions, as each of its own divisions get unique uniforms and colours associated with them. P-ASA police officers wear blue, for example, while medical personnel wears red and white. There's many more P-ASA divisions, like education, electricity, water supply etc., but those three are the most well-known divisions and the ones that get unique colours.

A research vessel's captain is still S-ASA personnel, unless the vessel is sent on a military mission. In those cases a M-ASA commander takes over, and M-ASA troops also accompany the scientists. S-ASA captains would generally have gold accents just like M-ASA captains do.

S-ASA usually wears a variation of the standard ASA uniform, but different crews have different uniforms too - there's quite a bit of variation in uniforms in the Union.

There can be personnel from other ASA divisions on board a S-ASA vessel, and they'd usually wear the uniform of the division they belong to. So M-ASA personnel will wear orange regardless of what division controls the ship they serve on, and the same goes for P-ASA, I-ASA etc.

Engineers and mechanics are often I-ASA or P-ASA, but since every ship needs its own maintenance crew every ASA division has its own engineers and mechanics.

AEG-Corps
The Aegi have AEG-Corps, a special task force that both takes on special operations, and develops its own state-of-the-art equipment. It was once the Aeginian Engineering Group - a group of engineers focused on creating new technologies for the Union - but it was offered a special position within the Aeginian military and eventually became AEG-Corps As for the ranks, they largely stick to Terran ranks, but the hierarchy of ranks has shifted somewhat and some ranks were removed/added.

Briggs Shipbuilding
It depends on who's in control of the ship's operations. Briggs operates some of its own ships too, but if a ship is acquired and operated by ASA, it'll carry the ASA prefix instead.

UFAH
There's also the UFAH (United Forces of the Aegi and Hymid), an Aegi-Hymid joint military organization that develops its own weapons, and the Alliance Collective, which develops weapons for the entire Alliance and is a joint venture of the Aegi, Hymid and Dremeton.

Economy
The Aeginian Federal Union has a mixed economy which is largely controlled by the government. The government regulates trade and the distribution of resources, striving for equality across the entire nation. All citizens that are employed are employed by the government in one way or another. Private companies do not exist: it is possible and common for citizens to start their own businesses, but these businesses are tightly regulated by the government and the entrepreneurs are automatically made government workers – they are enlisted as state officials and are given the responsibility to regulate their companies under the laws of commerce, as well as report to the Office of Commerce about performance and issues. The Office of Commerce is the body that regulates the registration of new companies and the regulation of existing ones. It has the power to dismantle companies as it sees fit, and is responsible for the distribution of resources amongst companies. The government provides every Union citizen with their basic needs for food, water and shelter, so long as they fulfill their role as Union citizen. This can be done in many ways: an individual may produce products the Union and its people requires, they may provide entertainment, do research, join the military to help protect and preserve the Union and its people, and so on. Individuals who exceed the Union’s expectations are rewarded with additional rewards, motivating people to work hard. Individuals who refuse to contribute to the Union or who neglect their responsibilities are eventually ‘banished’ to live in other nations. So long as the individual moves to another member state of the Elithian Aliance, the Union will assist them in their transfer. These individuals lose their Union citizenship, but are allowed within Union territory under certain conditions, allowing them to visit friends and family on occasion. Banished individuals are also allowed to return and reacquire their citizenship if they meet certain requirements and prove their value to the Union in one way or another. The Union’s currency, ‘credits’, is a digital currency controlled by the government. Every working individual is paid by the Union, with the base salary for every individual being equal. Some professions, especially those requiring years of study or those that pose great risks to the wellbeing of individuals, have higher salaries to compensate. When a certain function requires more people, but interest in said function is limited, the government often increases the salary for this function as well to motivate individuals to apply for the function. A few years after demand for the function has been met, the salary will be gradually reset to the universal base salary again. The highest salaries can never exceed 200% of the base Union salary, keeping the divide between ‘rich’ and ‘poor’ to a minimum, and effectively eliminating the ‘poor’ class completely. Even high-ranking government officials, such as the president or members of the first or second bodies, have salaries that differ only slightly from that of the base salary. Exceptional accomplishments are rewarded with a variety of awards, which can also include one-time credit bonuses. However, an individual’s status in the Union is not defined by their salary, but by their awards and accomplishments, with a salary acting merely as a means for people to express their individuality. Basic needs such as food, water and shelter are also excluded from the base salary, as these are provided to every contributing citizen by default. Salaries can be used by individuals to express their own interests, and they are free to spend credits on improvements to housing or more luxurious or exotic food in addition to everything else. Credits can also be saved over time, allowing individuals to save up for larger investments. Salaries are controlled by the Creditory Board, whose members are elected by the first body every five years. The Creditory Board has two bodies, much like the overall government. The first is in charge of electing individuals and professions for salary increases, whilst the second is in charge of reviewing the elections made by the first body.

Individual private property is certainly allowed, but private businesses/profitable entities are not. Almost every company in the Union is government-owned, even though private individuals start those companies. By starting one's own company and registering it in the Union, they actually become a state official (making your company a government institution), Those companies still have a large degree of freedom. There's plenty of regulations that they have to adhere to - the Union is more strict in this than most nations - but they also get government funding in return. The Union economy is quite odd compared to most other nations, and is entirely controlled by the government to ensure an equal distribution of wealth.

All employees (and executives) of a company have their income controlled by the Creditory Board, but the company itself is handled as a separate financial entity. So a company can use its earnings to grow the company and purchase new equipment and property, but these funds can never be used for private/individual gain. The executives of a company control the company's spending, but they must report to the Creditory Board and are responsible in case of illegal spending.

Most Aegi (and citizens of other species, since the Union is home to a variety of species) view the system as just, but there are certainly groups that disagree with some of the government's practices. There's freedom of speech, so voicing dissent in a non-violent manner is certainly allowed. The government tries to listen to complaints the best it can, using yearly elections and frequent polls and forums to give the people a voice. The system isn't perfect, but most citizens are well satisfied with the overall system.

The Rim is a bit of an odd one in all of this. The Rim is not only a Union territory, but also a more general Alliance territory, so regulations can get a bit tricky. A lot of the businesses operating in the Rim have headquarters somewhere in the Union and are thus regulated by the Creditory Board and such, but some businesses have more vaguely defined roots. Some businesses are regulated by other Alliance member nations, and some are regulated not by any individual nation but by the Alliance as a whole. Plenty of Rim citizens have no issue with their current situation as a fair portion of them face little trouble, but things don't always go very smoothly in the Rim so there's more dissent for sure. Sometimes these complaints are heard and resolved, but sometimes they get lost in paperwork or are ignored. With all of the shared territory, vague definitions and the long distances from central systems, the Rim can be quite a mess...

Government
The Aeginian Federal Union is a federation of a total of 84 states. The form of government of individual states varies across the board, but the Union itself is governed by three individual entities: the president, the senate or first body, and the second body. PRESIDENT The president is an individual, and the official head of state. The president’s primary role is as the representative of the Aeginian Federal Union: he or she represents the entire nation in almost all public affairs. However, the president also has a limited governmental function, being in charge of the final approval for laws passed by both the first and second bodies. In times of extreme danger, it is also possible for the president to temporarily seize full control of the nation. The president is elected by the public every five standard years, although it is common for presidents to retain their status for many more years. On average, a president retains their status for approximately 25 years, while some have kept the title for as many as 160 years. It is possible for a president to be overthrown before the next election in extreme cases, although this has happened only once so far. To apply for the function, an individual must comply with a number of requirements. They must have been a Union citizen for at least 25 standard years,  and must have been a member of either the first or second body for at least 5 years. While it is technically possible for an individual of any species to become president, only Aegi have so far been elected. Having made remarkable contributions to the Union greatly increase the chances for an individual to be accepted as presidential candidate. The contributions can be of any kind, but exceptional contributions to technology, philosophy or warfare are the most common. FIRST BODY The first body, or senate, is a group of representatives from all twelve major Aeginian territories. Each territory may have multiple representatives – based on the size and power of the territory – with the collection of representatives called a senatorial body. A territory, in this instance, can encompass multiple states. Territories are defined both by geographical  location and by shared interests of states. For example, the territory of the Mesaea encompasses all of the Elithian desert states, which are separated in location but unified in interests. The role of the first body is to review any proposals made by the second body. Only if the first body approves of a proposal can the proposal be forwarded to the president. If a proposal is refused, the second body can choose to either review and adjust it, or drop it entirely. Members of the first body are elected by the people every five years, together with the presidential elections. It is possible for members to be re-elected multiple times, and members are also allowed to join the second body or become president if they are so chosen. To apply for membership, an individual must apply to the Board of Governors, the organization in charge of organizing the elections. Having made remarkable contributions to the Union increases chances of being accepted as a candidate. SECOND BODY The second body is a group of representatives from all Union states. The number of representatives for each state is based on the relative size and power of that state. The role of the second body to make proposals for new laws, and to decide on matters important to the entire Union. Matters that only affect a single state are handled by the governing body of that individual state. After a proposal is made, it must be reviewed by the first body and the president. Members of the second body are elected by the people once every two years. It is possible for members to be re-elected multiple times, and members are also allowed to join the first body or become president if they are so chosen. To apply for membership, an individual must apply to the Board of Governors, the organization in charge of organizing the elections. Having made remarkable contributions to the Union increases chances of being accepted as a candidate.

Any Aegi born in the Aeginian Federal Union gets their citizenship at birth, but Aegi (and other aliens) who migrate to the AFU can get their citizenship by living there for a number of years without any incident. Citizenship can be taken away as punishment for severe or repeated crimes.

The AFU member states are lots of smaller territories that are partially self-governing. Many larger colonies are seen as separate states as well, like the colonies on Laena and Vaeda (the Elithian moons), the colony on Hyzolia and a couple of others. There are some Aegi-settled areas that aren't part of the AFU, but there's not many of them and all of them are rather small. Many colonies in the Rim aren't officially affiliated with the AFU anymore, and consider themselves independent states.

Creon City, the capital of Aeginian Federal union, is on an island in the middle of a large bay partially for its defensive advantages. When the humans of the Endurance Company arrived at Elithia, they chose that location to land as it seemed like one of the best places to settle.

Individuals who refuse to contribute to the Union or who neglect their responsibilities are eventually ‘banished’ to live in other nations. It's not as bad as it may sound. It just means that individuals who refuse to contribute to the Union don't get to enjoy the benefits of the Union. Some people may not be able to work at all, and they won't be banished for it, but those who only seek to gain and not give aren't considered worthy of being Union citizens.

The Aeginian Federal Union actually tries to combine the best of both communism and capitalism. Technically, the Union isn't capitalistic at all (since being capitalistic means that trade and industry are controlled by private owners rather than the government, while the Union economy is fully controlled by the government), but it does use a lot of concepts which are more frequently seen in capitalist nations and don't really align with what's often considered as communism.

The Aegi have adopted a lot of socialistic values and practises. They've tried to take some of the best elements of both socialism and capitalism to make their society fair to all, while still allowing individuals to compete and reach greater levels of wealth (to a degree) and status. Inheritance and some other systems also work a bit differently in the Union, so the children of a successful entrepreneur can't just profit off their parents the way people do so in our society. They'll still have an edge because it's easier for them to attain certain positions in family businesses, but they'll still need good education (which is free for all, so no edge there) and wages are set by the government, not the company, so parents can't favour their children.

No government is completely free of corruption, but the Alliance does a good job of keeping out corruption as much as possible.

Interstellar Relationships
The Elithian Alliance is a group of nations that have signed several common laws and treaties, and all alien nations can apply for a position within the Alliance. Individual aliens from non-Alliance nations can't join the Alliance directly - it isn't a nation onto itself - but they can potentially join the member nations of the Alliance. So an Avikan or Akkimari could become a citizen of the Aeginian Federal Union, which in turn makes them an Alliance citizen too. The Aeginian Federal Union is particularly well known for accepting aliens of all species. The vast majority of Union citizens are Aegi, but there are many Hymidian, Notician, Trinkian, Jorgasian and other citizens too.

The Aegi probably have the largest faction in the Alliance, and are a big influence on the cultures of other nations (especially the Hymid and Dremeton), but Aeginian diplomats who spend enough time in other nations will definitely pick up some of the habits of that other culture. Within the Alliance the Aeginian Federal Union has the most powerful military.

The Aegi believe in freedom, democracy, shared wealth and overall social equality. They'd be very opposed to any nation that restricts these. The moreso the aliens opress the more Aegi would disapprove of them.

Before joining the Alliance, many nations did have internal conflicts, but the Alliance has provided much stability to its member nations. Many species who enter the galactic scene start cooperating with their own a lot better upon discovering so many alien nations, though species like the Akkimari don't always follow that trend. And such change always takes time, so the start of a new entry on the galactic scene is always a bit turbulent.

Aegi's first actions upon discovery of new alien species will always be diplomatic. Ambassadors are frequently sent to new allies, they put in a lot of effort to learn about the new race and serve as translators/mediaries between the Alliance and new members.

Alliance territory is massive, but they only control a very minimal portion of that space: there's billions of stars in the Milky Way, and many, many millions of those are inside Alliance territory. The Alliance only directly controls a few dozen of these, and most of the territory is unexplored with potential spacefaring nations hiding inside. The Alliance tries to monitor their territory as much as possible and regularly explores undocumented systems, and they constantly scan for activity throughout the territory, but it's far too vast to ever fully control or monitor. Many things go unseen within the territory for sure.

The Creon Embassy is an embassy for the Elithian Alliance, which is a group of nations that cooperate on a lot of fronts. The Creon Embassy has flags for each member of the Alliance. All Alliance nations have some sort of symbol and colour palette that represents their nation as a whole: these are seen on the banners. It's actually one of the requirements for Alliance members. Not all nations have a traditional flag, since each species evolved differently and the ways they expressed their identities varied quite a bit. A lot of the time, a new member actually creates their banner for the Alliance rather than just using an existing symbol or flag.

For the Aegi in particular, they have both a flag and an Alliance banner. Both represent their nation, but the flag is more internal while the banner/icon is used across the Alliance.

Might also be interesting to know why the Alliance uses global icons/symbols instead of requiring a flag. The reasoning behind it is that these icons can be displayed in many different ways: you can display them on a banner or flag (i.e. a piece of cloth or the like), paint them on walls but also craft 3D versions of them, which is the most important part. While flags are easy to read for humans (and Aegi), they may not be so easy to read for all species. Blind species have no use for a flag, for example, and species with different colour vision may not interpret a flag properly since colours may be hard or impossible to distinguish. But an icon is a shape, which can be recognized regardless of colour, and can be made three-dimensional too so blind species are included as well.

Akkimari
There's some distaste for the Akkimari, but since there haven't been all that many Alliance-Akkimari encounters so far, there's no general consensus and plenty of Alliance citizens have never heard of the Akkimari.

The Akkimari (whose nation is called the Kel'Chis Covenant) aren't members of the Alliance. They exist within the same galaxy and interact sometimes, but they have no diplomatic relations at all. There's an Akkimari visiting the Creon Embassy, but they are just a visitor: they're not even an official ambassador as the Covenant doesn't currently have any ambassadors.

Avikan
The Avikan Nomada also isn't a member of the Alliance at this point, although the Alliance may be open to accepting them. It's just that the Avikan are currently too distrustful to cooperate with aliens on such a large scale, but that may change in the future.

They usually respect alien cultures for what they are, though it depends on the culture. In the case of the Avikan, the Aegi can see that giving up meat simply wouldn't be viable for the Avikan - their biology relies on it far more than that of the Aegi. If there's no biological or extremely prominent cultural reason for a nation to not reduce meat consumption, fuel usage etc. though, the Aegi may start looking down on that nation for it. Religion is a big factor too, and many Aegi will already look down on the Avikan for following such an archaic religion based around the Centens.

Centens
They haven't had any direct interactions with the Centens like the Avikan and Theleans did, so their first encounter with the Centens was the discovery of one of their ruins

The Aegi don't have a lot of experience with the Centens, and unlike the Avikan, they don't have a religion based around the Centens - they don't have any official religions, actually. Elithia is home to a few known Centensian sites, but nowhere near as many as can be found on Kadavan. So the inhabitants of Elithia aren't exposed to Centensian technology very often. That being said, the Aegi did reverse-engineer the basics of their hyperspace technology from Centensian technology, but this is true for many alien species.

Craton
The Alliance have a grudge against the Kharakorum Domain - the Craton have a long history of war with the Aegi and the Dremeton, and while the latest generations of Craton have been more stable than the older generations, there's still a lot of anger. Conflicts with the Craton have probably been the biggest ones thus far.

The Kharakorum Domain is situated on Elithia, and was there before humans/Aegi ever arrived. On first contact, they were rather hostile (though first contact between the Aegi and Dremeton also resulted in conflicts), but after some time manages to achieve peace with the Union. Which they then broke again, resulting in the Aegi and Dremeton forming the Elithian Alliance in defense against the Kharakorum Domain. The Domain was defeated and peace eventually restored, and the new Domain leadership accepted new legislation that could allow the Alliance the the Domain to co-exist on Elithia. The Domain mostly keeps to their own continent, and doesn't do much spacefaring. They can travel freely within the Gar-Aeroix (although there are restrictions around certain colonies and such), but aren't allowed free travel into other Alliance systems. Luckily, space is vast enough to be shared by the Domain and the Alliance, and since the Domain doesn't have many colonies there's rarely any serious conflicts.

Dremeton
They were initially attacked by the alien species (who were still quite early in their evolution as an intelligent species, using stone and metal weapons with only basic settlements underwater), and the Aegi retaliated.

Some Aegi (who later founded Creon City) wanted to try and establish some form of diplomacy between the two species, whilst others (those who founded Lonro) simply wanted to claim a territory further from the sea to prevent further (hostile) interactions.

Yeah, the Aegi/humans would win almost every conflict, though there weren't all that many and they were all pretty small in scale. The Dremeton are aquatic creatures and weren't able to do much on land, so conflicts were mostly on the shores and on the waters. Human fishermen getting attacked by Dremeton from below and such.

In the end, the inhabitants of Creon succeeded, and the name "Aegi" was actually given to the humans by the Dremeton. In the Dremeton language, the sound they used for "friend" sounded like "Aegi", and the name stuck (the humans saw it as a great way to start over on their new planet).

Earth and ancestral humans
To them, Terra is a planet of the past, one which has already seen too much meddling from sentient life. Even terraforming would be seen as further meddling - the Aegi wish for the planet to recover on its own.

Sol is just another name for the Solar System, so that's where Terra/Earth is. The Aegi felt that Terra had seen enough meddling from sentient life already, and made the entire Sol system an Exclusion Zone to prevent people from from settling the system. To them, opening up the rest of the system to colonization would only invite the settlers to get comfortable in the system and eventually spread out to Terra, which had to be prevented. They also didn't want anyone to settle there, since it could attract galactic conflicts to the system which could potentially harm Terra and the other planets.

In the THEA canon, humans as they are now no longer exist. They think back on humans as ancestors, and they obviously owe them their existence, but they also judge humans for the destruction they wrought to Earth before the asteroid came. They disapprove of quite a lot of ancient human culture, but at the same time have a lot of respect for the better parts of human society. In the Starbound alternative universe, the Aegi are absolutely astonished to find out that humans still live, but there's not much else I can say as human culture in Starbound isn't very well defined.

The dust cloud from that asteroid impact has likely settled already, though there will have been many lasting consequences on Earth's environment. It's got a massive crater in it and the enviornment is still recovering from a massive asteroid impact that caused the extinction of a good portion of life on Earth.

The Aegi still remember the Sol system and their history on Earth: that history is very important to them and it shapes many of their current philosophies. The Sol system itself, and Terra/Earth most of all, are officially designated Exclusion Zones to which only very limited travel is permitted. The system cannot be (legally) settled and the Aegi will defend it against intrusions, as it's likely their most important historical site. No-one from the Alliance is allowed to visit the planet or even enter the Sol system without permission. A small fleet is stationed outside the system to enforce the exclusion zone. After the impact that wiped out humanity on Earth, the planet's ecosystems were badly disrupted, and those ecosystems are still fragile and recovering. The Aegi want to allow the planet's lifeforms to recover on their own and won't accept any interference from sentient aliens.

Some early groups of Aegi were intent on reclaiming the planet, but they were a minority group that died out relatively quickly. Earth was the only planet inhabited by humans at the time of the asteroid impact, so there's no other worlds for the Aegi to reclaim: the journey to Elithia was the first large-scale extra-planetary mission.

In the canon lore of the Elithian Alliance, there's no such thing as the Protectorate and humans are extinct, with the Aegi being their only known descendants. The Starbound storyverse is separate from this canon lore and introduces a number of changes and compromises to make it fit in with Starbound lore better. One of those changes is that the asteroid didn't wipe out all of humanity, and the planet was never designated an Exclusion Zone.

Remnant
Modern nations would likely react to the Remnant with violence, as the Remnant act in violence to all aliens they've met. The Alliance would always attempt diplomacy at first - they don't know anything of value about the Remnant - but after their ambassadors get brutally slaughtered they'll go on the defensive.

The Rim
It differs from faction to faction, and from person to person. Some in the Alliance believe the Rim to be nothing more than a lawless frontier, and would prefer to just pretend they don't exist. Others are sympathetic to the many civilians in the Rim, or are simply unaware of anything that goes on there: there's very little contact between the Rim and the Alliance, so there are a lot of misinformed opinions.

Stalkers
Very little is known about them, and they aren't generally considered to be amongst the intelligent species of the galaxy. They are highly intelligent, but they aren't technologically advanced, but they are pretty much universally hated by everyone, including the Thell.

Theleans
Any of the larger Union Fleets (the Aeginian fleets) could probably take over the system, but engaging the Theleans directly would start a war. ['System' meaning Kadavan and it's solar system.] The Elithian Alliance and the Thelean Dominion are in an uneasy peace - there's skirmishes every now and then, but no full-scale war.

If the entire Alliance banded together to take the Thelean Dominion head-on, they might stand a chance, but a very slim one. The Alliance would still be massively outnumbered, but they have the advantage of variety: the Theleans may be massive in number, but they are predictable and highly uniform in their tactics, their strengths and their weaknesses.

Ability to defend themselves from Theleans depends on the size of the invading force. If it's a scouting force - similar to the first eight Thelean invasions of Kadavan - they could repel them with ease. If the Theleans brought their entire navy to bear, however, the Aegi wouldn't stand a chance on their own. They'll fare a lot better than the Avikan did, but they'd still be woefully under-equipped to fight such a massive and technologically superior force.

The Alliance has thus far been able to prevent antagonizing the Theleans. There have been minor skirmishes of course, but neither side believes large-scale conflicts to be beneficial. The Theleans wouldn't hesitate to start a full assault if they deemed it necessary, but even though they believe they would win such a war, they know they'd suffer serious losses as well. And since the Alliance isn't in possession of any major Centensian artefacts, they currently have no reason to fight. The Alliance has been very careful not to antagonize the Theleans, and at times even refrains from investigating Centensian sites to prevent complications with the Theleans.

The Excalibur fleet would be able to stand its ground against a Thelean armada better than most other fleets, but without support they'll be overwhelmed relatively quickly. The Excalibur could easily take down the most valuable targets in the opposing armada, but it's a slow and vulnerable ship that doesn't fare well in close to medium range combat. The best place on the battlefield for this fleet is as far away from the action as possible.

Alliance media are more varied when displaying Theleans. They are sometimes portrayed as villains, but sometimes they're portrayed in more neutral ways. There's also stories exploring the world from a Thelean perspective, featuring Theleans in protagonistic roles, though those stories are less common. They're generally also not very accurate to an actual Thelean perspective.

The Alliance has had very few encounters with Narvakhan. There's a few recorded cases, but these are extremely rare and poorly known by the public.

Voyager Company
When humans fled Earth to escape a large asteroid, they sent out two fleets of ships to seek out new habitable planets. One was the Endurance Company, which arrived at Elithia (they later became the Aegi). The second fleet was the Voyager Company, which was heading for another potentially habitable planet, but they never reached their destination. What happened to that second fleet is still one of the largest unsolved mysteries for the Aegi.

Essentially, the Endurance Company lost all contact with Voyager during the voyage to Elithia, and after the Aegi settled on Elithia and built new spaceships, they sent out multiple scouts to try and locate the Voyager Company. No traces of them were found at the last known location, nor was anything found on the planet Voyager was travelling to. A small outpost was established on that planet in the hopes of one day greeting the Voyager Company, but so far nothing has turned up. One scouting party even retraced the entire projected path of the Voyager Company, but they couldn't find a single trace: what really happened to the Voyager Company remains one of the largest mysteries the Aegi have yet to solve.

The fate of the Voyager Company is still unknown to the Aegi, though they (and the rest of the Alliance) assume that the entire company was lost - either they are still drifting in space, were attacked or were otherwise destroyed in some accident.

The theory that's currently most accepted is that the fleet ran into navigation issues and strayed from their intended trajectory, either ending up on another less hospitable planet, or running out of supplies and dying a slow death. There are some wilder theories out there, like a conflict with the Theleans or the Akkimari, infighting, or that they ran into an anomaly that either destroyed the fleet or warped them through space, but those theories are highly contested.

They'll look similar, but there might be some minor differences between the Aegi and the members of the Voyager Company. Both companies used genetic engineering to improve the human physiology, and while most of the enhancements were scheduled for both companies, there may have been some subtle differences as their target planets were different. They would mostly be minor changes to accommodate for the different atmospheres of both planets, but there may be subtle visual differences too.

Creon City (and a few other places) have memorials for the crews of the Voyager Company. In Creon City, it's found in a very central plaza, and it's a very important monument to the Aegi. The Aegi have definitely explored the fate of the Voyager Company in their fictional media too - there's countless theories and fictional stories in documentaries, books, movies, games and the like.

Trivia
For both trivia and quotes from Aegonian. Note about Aeginian drinks/sodas is to big to be put in bracket and too trivial to be put in cuisine.
 * "There were no rules on it in the old charter, but I think they should exist. I imagine they'll be something along the lines of "the terraforming of planets and other celestial bodies is only permitted on worlds proven to be lifeless, to prevent the destruction of existing ecosystems" As for how it will be handles in the roleplay, you should note that terraforming is an incredibly costly and time-consuming thing. The technology needed for it isn't too advanced, so most nations should be able to have access to it, but terraforming an entire planet would require tonnes of resources and many years of work (though smaller-scale/local terraforming could happen quite a bit faster)."
 * The Aegi would never have existed if Operation Guardian succeeded, which would also mean that Humans likely never went to Elithia. That'd mean no Elithian Code, no Elithian Alliance, and the Dremeton and the Hymid would still be stuck in their pre-spaceflight eras. There'd be many more changes of course, since it's quite likely mankind would have taken a less peaceful approach to interstellar growth, but those are some of the larger changes that would have happened.
 * This is their primary emblem, which was later also adopted by the Elithian Alliance as a whole. {regards to the one in the wiki's logo, it's the main THEA symbol} The three upper parts of the symbol represent the three main continents of Elithia, and the central circle represents the unity between the three continents. The upper parts are also scaled in relation to the continents they represent. The three continents are (from largest to smallest): Aegonia, Deseria and Cratonia. Aequitia isn't represented in it, since it doesn't have much of a Union population and wasn't inhabited at all when the emblem was created. The central circle is the symbol for unity between these three. The whole symbol therefore represents the Elithian Alliance (before it spread to other systems and species).
 * Meteorite that threatened Earth was very large - comparable at the very least to the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs.
 * "As for the pronunciation of Aegi, I usually pronounce it as Ey-ʤi, but I like to keep it pronunciations open to interpretation!" "[...]It's pronounced very much like the word 'age', but with the -i pasted at the end. That being said, the word Aeginian (and also my username, Aegonian), is pronounced with a 'g' sound instead."
 * The Centens that visited Elithia in the roleplay was actually an imposter.
 * "I don't know a whole lot about the USCM - not all that much information has been released about them - but given that it was basically a corporate military faction the Aegi would likely be opposed to them. They had rather aggressive tactics and apparently very poor working conditions for its members - given the amount of insubordination - which are all things the Aegi will dislike about them."
 * "Given that the Miniknog is a highly oppressive regime, the Aegi are very opposed to them. The Aegi believe in freedom, democracy, shared wealth and overall social equality, which is pretty much the exact opposite of the Miniknog regime."
 * "The Alliance is, in general, very disapproving of oppressive regimes, and as such likely don't hold the Miniknog in very high regard. They're more likely to support the Apex rebels, and may offer them a place in the Alliance if they do manage to create a free Apex nation. Likewise, they likely won't respect the USCM very much: it'd be seen as a dangerous, reckless and ruthless organization that could pose a threat to Alliance colonies and ships."
 * Gar-Aeroix (Dremetonian for Great Planetary System) is the name for the planetary system as a whole, much like how we call our planetary system the Solar System. The star of the Gar-Aeroix has ever been named, actually.
 * As for the asteroid that hit Earth (which was the reason for the Aegi to flee the planet), that still happened in Storyverse 2. The only difference between Storyverse 2 and canon would be the scale of the impact of the asteroid: in canon, it destroyed almost all of humanity. In Storyverse 2, humanity survived the impact and managed to build the Protectorate later on. (Storyverse 2 refers to altered continuity for Starbound-related roleplay.) The Alliance was shocked at the news, and investigating what happened (and especially preventing the same from happening to any other planets) became a top priority to them. An Aeginian player is actually sent on their quest to defeat the Ruin by both Esther and Admiral Lyiin. They have likely put their planets and other strongholds on high alert, as they fear that whatever happened to Earth may happen to them as well.
 * 247 BA (the year when the asteroid was detected) will translate to sometime between 2050 and 2200 AD. The ships used to flee Earth were the first large manned spaceships sent to explore beyond the rest of the solar system, so humanity was still very early in its space age. Humanity left Earth in the year 247 BA (Before Arrival), and the date Aegonian generally uses for the current timeframe of the THEA universe is 652 AA (After Arrival), which is the year the Alliance makes first contact with the Avikan Nomada. So there's about 900 years between leaving Earth and the current in-universe time. Aegonian hasn't formally set a date for the departure from Earth yet, but he said that it'll be somewhere beyond 2100, though likely not too much farther. That would put the current time in AD somewhere just beyond 3000 AD.
 * There was only one Aeginian president on record that was overthrown. He was removed from office for abuse of power. He won the elections thanks to his charm and cunning, but was eventually exposed as corrupt after funneling credits into specific businesses for personal financial gain, and he had even attempted to corrupt a member of the Creditory Board to help him. His presidency lasted for four years, and he seemed a very responsible president for most of that time, but after the Creditory Board and the First and Second Bodies discovered his corruption, he was very quickly removed from office. He was eventually banished from the Union and later moved to the Rim, where he eventually disappeared off the radar.
 * If you take the first contact between the Aegi and the Avikan as the current date (it's very close to the starting date of the Starbound story and the roleplay), approximately 897 years have passed since the exodus from Earth. That would put the current catholic year somewhere between 2950 and 3000.
 * Mehros Avan is simply a well-known modern artist amongst the Aegi. His works are often displayed in the many public musea of the Union, and he has art installations in many other places too.
 * In the Starbound storyverse, the story of Earth is modified somewhat, as humans obviously survived. The asteroid impact still happened, but was not as drastic as in the canon, and humanity rebuilt their society. They lost contact with the Exodus fleets however, and the Aegi only found out that Earth survived a few centuries after they'd settled on Elithia.
 * There was once a bombing attempt in Creon Embassy. A small group of Aegi extremists were behind that attempt, which was stopped by P-ASA before anyone could get hurt. Those Aegi were upset by the large influx of aliens into their city: the vast majority of Aegi are avid supporters of the diversity of species in Creon, but as always, there'll be some who disagree with the masses. They tried to make themselves known through that bombing attempt, and scare away some of the aliens moving into Creon, but they clearly failed at that.
 * Amongst Aegonian's races, there are no societies ruled by mega-corporations. The Aegi come closest to such a model, but all mega-corporations are government institutes so it's not really the corporations who are in power.
 * There's plenty of illegal drugs in the Union's underground. The Rim offers its own types of drugs as well. Some drugs, before discontinuation, were farmed crops from Earth.
 * The Aegi had various Earth crops on board their Exodus ships - some of them being actively farmed, many others being preserved in special cryonic storage. All Earth crop planting sites were carefully controlled, and generally were in-doors to prevent the wind from carrying seeds away from the farm. Over time, use of some of the Earth crops was discontinued, while others were genetically modified to be able to grow on Elithia without threatening native species.
 * Secret ingrediant of Hotbrot is actually part of a rare plant native to some obscure alien world, This plant is mostly unknown to the Alliance, with only the creators of hotbröd and a few select others having access to farmable seeds and plants. It was harvested a long time ago on some obscure alien planet, and was eventually brought to Elithia where it is grown on a few specialized farms. [They have classified farms, essentally.]
 * In the Starbound storyverse, the Aegi are primarily surprised and amazed by the fact that humanity still lives. They are interested in communicating with their close relatives and hope to build good diplomatic relations with them. Overall, I'd say the general consensus about humanity is positive, but Starbound doesn't provide enough details on human society to really dig into the topic. As always though, opinions will be varied, and inevitably there will be some Aegi who see humanity in a negative light. Some small groups will view humanity as inferior, but it's certainly not a wide-spread opinion.
 * [Asked if Aeginian Navigators use performance enhancing drugs] "Sometimes, but not by default. Civilian navigators don't generally use any performance enhancing drugs, but military navigators sometimes do. It also depends on the type of ship they fly, though: modern FTL/hyperdrive ships don't generally need the people on board to take anything, but some older sub-FTL ships do. They use constant acceleration to simulate gravity, which is fine so long as you don't exceed 1G by too much. But some of these older ships were built to accelerate even further, and people on board such ships need some special drugs and the like to survive the extreme forces and stay conscious. Such propulsion ships are still used sometimes, especially when budgets are small such as in the Rim. Those ships can only really be used for interplanetary travel though, as they can never cross the interstellar void in a reasonable timeframe. "
 * There were quite a few other species even before Aegonian created the Aegi, but none of those ever had any lore written for them. Of the current species, the Aegi were developed as first proper race.
 * Aegi still use last names. Taemera and Atmaere are some of the better-known names (lots of significant members of those families), but a few other examples are Fontaine, Akura, Vermire, Deron, Nedhi, and various names related to cities (like Of Creon, Of Hythe, Of Astern etc.)
 * In the Union, there's a couple of different ways ships might deal with waste disposal. The simpler ships - and also most Rimdweller ships - either have a storage compartment for waste which is emptied when landing on a planet or a station (which then has its own waste disposal facilities), or they dump their waste directly into space. More advanced ships can recycle the materials inside that waste and put it to good use, either for hydroponics or some other extraction of resources. On extremely long journeys, even these advanced ships might have to just dump their waste into space at some point, though.
 * "The Pathfinder and his Pilgrims are inspired by Santa, the Christmas Elves, and a lot of other figures from history and holidays. Thanksgiving pilgrims are an obvious one, though Squanto wasn't really part of it. The Pathfinder in particular is mostly a blend between Santa Claus and Sinterklaas from the Netherlands (who served as inspiration for Santa Claus in the first place). That's where the Pathfinder's staff comes from, for example. The entire Landing Festival is an amalgamation of many different holidays from Earth!"
 * [Asked about Breacher K-1] "It's not a direct adaptation of a vehicle-mounted railgun, but the design is heavily inspired by Rimdweller railguns for ships and other vehicles. It's a compacted version of their vehicle designs, stripped down to be just about manageable as a portable version. It's still incredibly heavy and cumbersome, but a strong enough individual can just about handle and fire it."
 * [Asked about what Aegi expected on Elithia] "The Aegi were expecting Elithia to be a habitable planet, but they had no idea what the exact circumstances would be. They expected a world rich in water, with an atmosphere that contained at least some oxygen, but they knew little to nothing about the actual temperature, climate, weather conditions, wildlife and such of the planet. As such, they prepared for a potentially hostile world, with an atmosphere that might not fully support them, potentially extreme weather conditions and dangerous wildlife to compete with. They expected Elithia to be habitable but harsh, and were astonished to find it an Earth-like paradise: a true goldilocks world. They expected far worse, and in the end not all of their genetic modifications were strictly necessary. It definitely helped them spread to other planets though, and made life on Elithia easier too!"
 * The Strauss dynasty isn't well known any more, much like a lot of 'ancient' human culture and history, but there still exist records of these things. There are also some groups that still know much about these parts of Terran culture, but they are mostly historians and the like. The musical style of the Aegi is highly diverse, and some styles still show some influences from things like the Strauss Dynasty. When the ancient humans fled Earth, they took with them massive databases full of human culture and history, including complete copies of all popular databases like Wikipedia. They also brought with them copies of as many songs, movies, games and such as they could, trying to preserve as much as possible. Some things were inevitably lost, but a surprising amount of human culture was preserved in the archives.
 * Alpha Centauri has been visited, but never really colonized by the Aegi. When the Aegi left Earth, they travelled quite far - much further than Alpha Centauri - to find a suitable home on Elithia. Once the Aegi were established on Elithia, they focused their colonization efforts on the other planets in the system, then the newly discovered Hyzolia, and later other nearby systems. Alpha Centauri was always too far away to be a good candidate for colonization.
 * [Asked if Aegi bioengineered fungi] The Aegi haven't done many new things with fungi, they've mostly expanded on the current methods of using fungi to produce all sorts of biological products.
 * "The Aegi were created based on a very optimistic view of the future of humanity, and I've certainly shaped them after many of my own ideals as well. The Aegi certainly aren't perfect, and the Union has its darker areas too, but in general it's a place where humanity has finally solved the majority of its social and ecological issues."
 * The aesthetic Aegi follow is called Solarpunk. Which is an opposite of cyberpunk in many ways, most notably it is an optimistic view of the future, biomimetic styles and where humans have found balance between technology and nature.
 * The rumour goes that the Meditek CEO is involved in some black market deals happening in the Rim, specifically deals concerning psychoactive medication/drugs. There's been no evidence found thus far and most assume that these are lies meant to discredit the CEO, but nothing's for sure yet.
 * The Aegi have a fair number of recreational drugs available to them. The Union has a lot of regulations on this front which ensures that the commonly available drugs are not addictive and are safe to use. Distribution and quality of the drugs is strictly regulated. There's a black market scene for harder drugs too, but the Union tries hard to suppress that underground scene.
 * The Aegi definitely do it for more than just reproduction - they are almost exactly like modern humans in that regard. In Aeginian society, things like red-light districts are frequently frowned upon by a large part of the population.

"The sodas were an attempt to bring a bit more life to the mod and the world, which I think worked out pretty well! It's been a while since I added them, but I think the concepts started as colour palettes for the drinks and the cans. Froza was an easy one, with blue, white and red, and the others were built to contrast that. Le'mar is bright green, while Corus is dark and red, and Valassa is a bright and juicy pink.

For the names, I was trying to come up with names that could realistically be used for a soda brand. Froza was the first I made, its name trying to evoke the thought of frozen/cooled drinks, adding the -a part to make it sound a bit more exciting. Le'mar was a more exotic drink and thus a more exotic name, likely inspired by some alien language. Corus sounds a bit rougher, which fits its style too. Plus, it sounds a bit like cola, which is what it is most similar to. Valassa shares some sounds with vahlberry, and sounds soft and relaxed in a way, which is what that brand is going for.

As for the way they taste, Froza is a mix of some native Elithian fruits - it's energetic and fizzy, something almost anyone might enjoy. There's no direct taste equivalent on Earth, but you imagine the sensation of mixed fruits with some exotic taste. Le'mar is made using a smaller selection of native fruits, and is a bit like Sprite or 7Up. Corus is more like Cola in taste. Valassa, on the other hand, is a very juicy drink made of just one type of fruit, namely vahlberries (which taste a bit like grapes and strawberries combined).

The mixed drink is hard to explain: the taste will be a mix of all of the other sodas, which creates a somewhat overwhelming taste. Incredibly fruity, but strangely fizzy and with that slight cola-like taste too. It's a bit like an explosion of different tastes, which not everyone will enjoy."