2. The scales of space
Partial
2.1 The natural hierarchy
| Level | What it is | Size | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Galaxy | the star’s place in it; the local star field (stars within 10 pc, each with a seed from which a system could be made) and the night sky (stars to magnitude 6, the Milky Way, asterisms) | – | partial: no other systems are generated |
| Star system | star, planets, moons, belts | – | built |
| Planet | the main world | – | built |
| Continent | a landmass of 1 % of the surface or more; large islands and islands below that | – | built |
| Subcontinent | regions that touch | about 10 regions | built |
| Region | a cell of the map with its ground, climate band, height, temperature, rain | 25 000 km² by default (lockable: regionKm2) | built |
| Landscape | features alike in height and coast | about 3.5 features | built |
| Feature | zones of one family of ground | about 6 zones | built |
| Zone | one stretch of one kind of ground; the basic unit | 50–600 km² | built |
| Subzone | a place in a zone, and the void that fills the rest | 1–5 km², 3–20 per zone | built |
The sea has regions and zones in two layers (surface and floor). Large lakes have a rim and a freshwater middle. Rivers and ridgelines are barrier zones. See Geography and Polity Module – Specification. Landmarks are listed in section 7.
2.2 The political overlay
| Level | What it is |
|---|---|
| Realm | an independent power; its title now comes from the culture’s government (section 12) |
| Territory | a part of a realm administered as one |
| District | the smallest unit of administration: zones that touch |
A zone is held, contested, ungoverned or wilderness.
Still to build Galaxy generation (in part)
The project’s scope runs "from an entire galaxy down to minute details". The local star field gives each nearby star a seed for makeSystem, but no other system is generated, and there is no travel or contact between worlds (Solar System Module – Additions §2). Built (Decisions Log §33, solar-system/supernovae.ts): the supernovae of the local star field are dated events of the system’s history, each with a distance within ten parsecs, a progenitor, a strength and a place in the sky; those that harmed the living are the life module’s own dyings, and the rest of the timeline is filled from the same process. Each has an echo in the aether (section 12).