Terra
From Gineipaedia, the Legend of Galactic Heroes wiki
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Terra (Japanese: 地球), formerly called Earth, is a planet in the Sol Starzone and the origin of humanity, the only known intelligent life form in the universe. For millennia, Terra stood at the centre of human civilisation, and served as the focal point for human politics, economics, art, and culture.
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History
Thirteen Day War
By the mid-21st century CE, the planet had been divided between two super-powers: the United States of Euro-Africa and the Northern Coalition. In 2039 CE, these two nations committed to total war, unleashing devastating thermonuclear weapons upon the planet's surface. In less than a fortnight, all major cities on the planet had been destroyed. Terra's total population dwindled to only a billion, and the 90 years that followed were characterized by conflict and turmoil. (LOGH: 'To Earth')
United Earth Government
The United Earth Government (UEG) was founded in 2129 CE, when the many fragmented nations of the devastated planet banded together to work for a common cause. By the mid-22nd century, the UEG had succeeded in rebuilding the social, industrial, and economic infrastructure and population of Terra, ushering in a golden age of prosperity for all of mankind.
In the 23th century, the UEG began exploring options for interstellar travel. In 2253 CE, the UEG launched the Alpha Centauri Expedition to the Proxima Starzone, 4.37 light-years beyond Terra's own star. Much to their disappointment, the vessel was never heard from again.
In 2360 CE, UEG researchers developed the warp drive. Early warp technology had dangerous side-effects for female passengers, often resulting in infertility, but the technology was finally perfected by 2391 CE.
In 2402 CE, a habitable planet was discovered in the Canopus Starzone, and humanity's first interstellar colonists departed shortly afterwards. Many other habitable planets were discovered afterwards, bringing about an era of interstellar colonisation. This sparked debate on Terra over what level of autonomy to grant fledgling colonies; ultimately the UEG established a 'Navigation Safety Department', later called the Department of Public Safety, to oversee colonisation and interstellar commerce. This would grow further still and in time become the Space Force
By the late 27th century, the political dominance of the Humanity Congress began to wane. Dissatisfied with economic imbalances and unfair congressional representation, which had a disproportionate number of members from Terra, a number of colonies — led by the charismatic revolutionary Carl Palgrem — rebelled against the United Earth Government. Adopting the name Sirius Revolutionary Congress after the dominant force in opposite to the UEG, the Sirius colony, the rebels declared themselves independent from the United Earth Government; this act sparked the Earth–Sirius War.
In 2689 CE, the United Earth Government's Department of Public Safety launched an invasion of the Sirius Starzone, occupying the colony on Sirius VI, Rondolina. The occupation army was extremely undisciplined, resulting in a brutal occupation, eventually culminating in the massacre of thousands of civilians in Rondolina's capital city, Laglane.
The Sirius Revolutionary Congress succeeded in liberating Rondolina after a series of victories over the undisciplined forces of the United Earth Government's Space Force. After driving the UEG navy from Sirius, Carle Palmgren's Black Fleet headed towards Terra itself. The Terran forces made their last stand outside the solar system's main asteroid belt, but a two-month-long blockade initiated by the rebel fleet had disastrous consequences. With their supply lines cut, the weakened and starving UEG forces were unable to defend Terra from the Black Fleet. Only about a billion survivors remained on the planet when it was over. (LOGH: 'To Earth')
Era of warring states
The Sirius Revolutionary Congress was reformed as the Sirius Republic in 2704 under the leadership of Carle Palmgren soon after the destruction of Terra. However Palmgren died in 2706 and his successor, Winslow Kennes Townshent, became a dictator and transformed the Sirius Republic into the Sirius Empire. However this dissolved quickly after Townshent's assassination in 2707, and an era of balkanisation followed. The various colony worlds all formed their own nation-states and attempted to unify the scatter human settlements, with little success. After nearly a century of on-again-off-again warfare, the colony world of Theoria, located in the Aldebaran Starzone, managed to unite humanity under a second hegemony. They declared themselves the Galactic Federation, and instituted the Space Era calendar to mark a new beginning in human history — an era when Terra was no longer the focal point of humanity. (LOGH: 'To Earth')
Rise of the Terraist Church
Some time between the destruction of Terra by the Black Fleet and the fall of the Goldenbaum Dynasty, a religious order based on the tenets of Terraism began to spread throughout the Galaxy. This religion was based around the belief that Terra, as the birth place of humanity, was a holy site. A massive temple complex was constructed inside Mt Kangchenjunga, which became the headquarters for the religion and the home of the Terraist leader, the Grand Bishop. Many Terraists immigrated to Terra, but the planet never regained enough population to be considered an 'inhabited world' (and thus the Galactic Empire never found cause to directly administer government on the planet). Free to work in relative isolation from the greater political powers of the Galaxy, the Terraist Church thrived. Missionaries spread throughout the Empire and, by way of the Fezzan Corridor, to the Free Planets Alliance as well. Terraism soon gained converts from all over, many of whom made it a point to go on a pilgrimage to Terra as a way of affirming their faith.
Once on Terra, those pilgrims were subjected to numerous forms of brainwashing, often facilitated by drugs, in order to become unthinking tools of the Grand Bishop. Once fully converted, these zealots returned to the Galaxy at large. Many of them either were people of power and influence, or had access to those that were, and were thus able to perform various activities at the behest of the Grand Bishop, from simple subversion and espionage to acts of terrorism and assassination.
The Terraist Church was largely responsible for the creation of Fezzan as an autonomous state, and worked to perpetuate the Alliance–Imperial War, accumulating a great deal of money and influence by shifting support from one side to another. Terraism's ultimate goal was to exhaust both the Free Planets Alliance and the Galactic Empire to such a point that they could usurp power, and establish a single pan-galactic nation with the holy planet of Terra at its centre.
New Galactic Empire
When the Terraist Church was destroyed and the galaxy united by Reinhard von Lohengramm's New Galactic Empire, Terra presumably once again fell into isolation and obscurity. A primitive, backwater planet in the far frontier of Imperial Space, it is unlikely Terra was ever again at the centre of any great events.
With the Church destroyed, it is possible that Earth is no longer even inhabited.
Appendices
Appearances
Background information
- It appears that at some point following the planet's downfall in the 27th century there underwent a shift in terminology, from Earth to Terra. Although historical records shown in 'To Earth' do include the term Earth, all English/Romanised references to the planet at the turn of the 37th century (the series' 'present day') use Terra. (In the Japanese dialogue and subtitles, the term 地球, chikyuu, is used exclusively and can be translated as either word.)
- Earth's existence as an unimportant backwater planet, part of an enormous galaxy-wide empire, is similar to Isaac Asimov's vision of the future described in the novella Pebble in the Sky.
Name variations
- Terra (LD/DVD/BD subtitles)
- 地球 (LD/DVD subtitles — Japanese)
