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"There's more'n seventy little Earths spinning about the galaxy, and the meek have inherited not a one."― Mal in "Our Mrs. Reynolds"Nice Overview of the 'Verse. The 'Verse is the most common term used to describe the star system inhabited by mankind in the context of the game. It includes five main sequence stars which are orbited by planets and protostars, numerous moons and other bodies all forming a complex and unique star system. Most of the planets and moons in the system have been terraformed by mankind since they arrived, creating a large number of worlds that can support life.
Where numbers and specifics matter, we will use the numbers and statistics in the PDF fan supplement "The Verse In Numbers 2.1", with one exception. All populations are approximately 1/10 of what is listed in this article, as I find them to be implausibly large in the core worlds. This massive fan-created supplement lays out the history and astrography in mind-boggling detail, and is as close to canon as one is likely to find.
The five star system was discovered from Earth in 2020, in the constellation of Taurus. Study of the system revealed a number of gas giants and even more terrestrial planets, several with Earth-like characteristics - oxygen, nitrogen and even signs of water. The system was therefore selected as the destination for the massive human migration known as the Exodus. Mankind left Earth-That-Was, bound for their new home.
The five main sequence stars in the system each have a Chinese name, based on the Chinese constellations as they were connected with the five elements. They each also have a more mundane, English name, denoting the perceived color of the star (except for the two yellow stars, which were given unique names).
White Sun is at the center of the 'verse, orbited directly by the Core or central planets. Georgia and Red Sun share the first major orbital path around White Sun. Beyond these are Kalidasa and then Blue Sun. Each of these main stars is orbited by numerous planets, moons, asteroids and other objects, including dozens of non-terraformed bodies not listed below. Gas giants large enough to be brown dwarfs in each part of the system have also been "helioformed", creating new protostars. This was done to increase the number of places where planets and moons could be terraformed to support life. Some of these protostars include: Qin Shi Huang and Lux, orbiting White Sun; Murphy, orbiting Georgia; Heinlein, orbiting Red Sun; Penglai, orbiting Kalidasa; and Burnham, orbiting Blue Sun.
The 'Verse of 2525 is a politically fragmented, economically chaotic place compared to the previous decade. The uniform control of the Alliance was shattered in 2520, first by the destruction of the Parliament on Londinium, and then by the assassination of Admiral Sutton, which brought his forces into the simmering conflict between Ariel and Sihnon. The White Sun Civil War (2520-2522) raged for almost two years, resulting in the destruction of major government and military facilities throughout White Sun, with collateral damage to the economy and civilian infrastructure. Major fleet battles led to the self-destruction of the once enormous Alliance military, and the end of Alliance rule. The White Sun Civil War ended when most factional leaders and their fleets had been killed or disrupted to the extent that naval actions became impossible. In early 2522 the three primary combatant worlds (Sihnon, Ariel, and Jiangyin) signed the Athens Treaty, formally ending hostilities with subtle encouragement from the "New Cardiff Consortium", a temporary alliance of most of the megacorporations.
While not as physically destructive as the Unification War (2505-2511), some 680,000,000 people, roughly 7% of the population of the 'Verse died in the fighting and chaos which followed. This was followed by massive dislocations as the economy of the 'Verse went into freefall. Large numbers of people simply gave up their lives in the Core and migrated outward to the frontier worlds, especially to Blue Sun. This, in turn, led to an extensive reshuffling of power on countless little moons as thousands of strangers arrived with nothing but the clothes on their back, attempting subsistence farming and largely failing at it. Likewise, most of the terraforming efforts underway in 2520 were interrupted or deliberately disrupted, resulting in several failed efforts. These "black rocks" are uninhabited, save for wildcat mining operations, salvage efforts, and the ubiquitous pirates.
The infrastructure of the Cortex network was a primary target for nearly all of the warring factions. It was quickly attacked and destroyed by the major combatants, and not yet fully restored by 2525. As a result, data transfer and communications are severely limited. For most users, reliable transmissions are only available in-system, and even then only near major worlds. Interstellar communication is extremely expensive, and largely limited to the mega-corporations who maintain their own networks. There is no single unified communications network anymore.
Similarly, no single currency exists within the 'Verse. Each interplanetary body has created its own currency for internal use, and most independent worlds will accept currency at constantly changing exchange rates, but for interplanetary use, these currencies are difficult and occasionally useless. Gold and platinum retain their value as a universal mode of currency, and barter has never gone out of use on the frontier.
For electronic transfers of wealth, however, a new form of currency was developed by the true economic titans of the postwar period, the corps. Immediately after the cessation of hostilities in 2522, the Rance-Feeney Corporation hosted a series of conferences in the city of New Cardiff/Londinium, wherein the major megacorps of the 'Verse, including Blue Sun, Weyland-Yutani, and Magnus among others, agreed to a single corporate currency to be used among these enormous commercial powers.
The new currency unit is officially called the "Consortium Exchange Unit" (CEU), but they are almost always called "Londy Bucks", "CeeYou's", or "Credits". One CEU is usually worth roughly a hundred standard platinum coins, so they are useful for large purchases. Unfortunately, the CEU is new and in limited circulation, so most of the worlds on the Border and Rim still have almost no access to CEU's in useful amounts.
Independent Worlds of the 'Verse - In 2525, the 'Verse is marked by a relatively large number of independent worlds of all manner of governments and character. There are few such planets in White Sun, but generally the further out on the frontier, the more worlds that are self-governed or ungoverned. These range from peaceful farm world to psychotic military dictatorships and everything in between. A few worlds are politically divided at the regional level, with multiple independent states on each planet's surface, each with its own government and laws. Such worlds tend to be chaotic, conflict-riddled places.
Information on specific locations below is taken from from The Verse In Numbers 2.0. Where there is contradictory information, please use ViN2, as it is more coherent and scientifically thought-out. This list does not include all of the worlds detailed in ViN2.0, but serves as a reasonable place to start. Don't expect to know all or even many of these places.
The central star of the Verse is known as White Sun A0 star, roughly three times the size of Sol) in English, and Bai Hu (White Tiger) in Chinese. White Sun is the central anchor star of the 'Verse. It is an A0 V white giant of 3.2 Solar masses and a Solar Luminosity of 80. The system also includes dozens of non-terraformed bodies not listed below, such as moons, minor planets, and so forth.
Georgia (G0 star roughly the same size as Sol), also known as Huang Long (Yellow Dragon) in Chinese, shares the first major orbital path around White Sun with Red Sun. Georgia orbits White Sun at a distance of 68 AU, taking 571 standard years to make one orbit. It is G0 V star of 1.1 Solar masses, very similar to Sol. The system also includes dozens of non-terraformed bodies not listed below, such as moons, minor planets, and so forth.
Georgia is also the largest of the systems outside of the Core, and is where the Independents first stood up against the Alliance. Georgia was the heart of the Independents' territory and the scene of the heaviest and bloodiest fighting. Serenity Valley is on Hera of course, but both Aphrodite and Shadow were heavily bombarded during the war. The largest naval battle of the war took place above Sturges when an Alliance task force intercepted the Independents Space Navy and prevented them from reaching Hera. (Note: only important or terraformed worlds are listed. Most of these planets have additional moons)The worlds in orbit around Georgia include:
Red Sun (G5 star somewhat smaller than Sol), also known as Zhu Que (Red Phoenix*) in Chinese, shares the first major orbital path around White Sun with Georgia. Red Sun orbits White Sun at a distance of 68 AU, taking 571 standard years to make one orbit. It is a G5 V star of 0.93 Solar masses. This is the coldest of all the stars in the verse. The system also includes dozens of non-terraformed bodies not listed below, such as moons, minor planets, and so forth.
The Red Sun system provides a great deal of resources to the 'Verse. It is dominated by Corrone Mining, although there are several prime agricultural worlds here as well. The worlds in orbit around Red Sun include:
* The traditional name for the Chinese constellation is sometimes given as "Vermilion Bird", however the translation of this star's name has been listed in Firefly canon material as "Red Phoenix".
Kalidasa (F5 star, slightly larger than Sol), also known as Xuan Wu (Black Tortoise) in Chinese, is in the second major orbital path around White Sun at 121 AU - farther out than Georgia and Red Sun, but not as far out as Blue Sun. Kalidasa takes 1331 standard years to make one orbit. It is an F5 V star of 1.29 Solar masses. The system also includes dozens of non-terraformed bodies not listed below, such as moons, minor planets, and so forth.
Blue Sun (F0 star, somewhat larger than Sol), also known as Qing Long (Blue Dragon*) in Chinese, is the farthest out of the main sequence stars in the Verse. Blue Sun orbits White Sun at a distance of 180 AU, taking 2415 standard years to make one orbit. It is a F0 V star of 1.7 Solar masses. The system also includes dozens of non-terraformed bodies not listed below, such as moons, minor planets, and so forth.
Blue Sun is truly the frontier of the 'Verse. These worlds were among the last to be terraformed and some (New Omaha, Muir) are in the finishing stages. Alliance patrols and law are rare here, and what exists is likely to be disgraced, corrupt or uncaring. Piracy and slave trading abounds. It is also the heart of Reaver territory, if you believe in those stories. The worlds in orbit around Blue Sun include:
* The traditional name for the Chinese constellation is sometimes given as "Azure Dragon", however the translation of this star's name has been listed in Firefly canon material as "Blue Dragon".
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