Goibniu

Name of World: Goibniu

System: Gjallarhorn

Year Initially Settled: 2133

Affiliations: Coalition

Governmental Style: Representative Democracy

Primary Languages: Australian/British English, Arabic, a variety of other Semitic languages in the more arid parts of the planet

Primary Industries: Military Weapons Development, Medical Training

Current Leaders/Figures of Note: Keanu Erikson is the current elected president of the planet. He formerly served in a high-ranking position in the Coalition military before returning home. He's considered to be a man of carefully-measured responses.

In-Play Characters from this Location: Zeke Antonio.

Human Mutations: Humans of Goibniu have developed several forms of telekinesis. The most basic form of this mutation is common amongst the population and is generally little more than a parlor-trick levitation whereby they can make objects the size of their hands or smaller float in air or drift toward them at low speed from up to one or two feet away. It makes passing the salt at the dinner table a lot easier, or grabbing your phone from the nightstand, but it isn't precise enough or powerful enough to do much else.

Much less common are the occurrences of the three specialized versions of the mutation:

• Fine or dexterous telekinesis is a bit like having an intangible third hand capable of grasping and manipulating small objects as if with your own fingers. With enough practice and concentration, some may even be able to add a fourth or fifth 'hand'. People with fine telekinesis might apply this to art, micro-engineering, or medicine. A surgeon could be their own assistant, holding extra tools at ready. A micro-engineer could control tools usually too small for their actual hands to precisely build or repair technology on an incredibly small scale. A thief could pick physical locks or disable security systems without leaving a fingerprint behind.

• Heavy or brute telekinesis allows for lifting and carrying large objects or even propelling those large objects long distances. Those gifted in this particular kind of telekinesis may find themselves able to lift things much larger with their minds than they ever could with their muscles, and teams with this ability can be extremely effective in construction, combat, and even rescue situations. 

• Barrier telekinesis, sometimes called shielding, allows them to create actual physical barriers in the air around themselves or others. The barriers are spherical, generally transparent, and bar any physical objects from passing through. The barriers are completely non-permeable, stopping gasses or air from passing through, and also stop heat transference, like from a fire. 

Regardless of the way a mutation manifests, there are commonalities between each type. For example, all telekinesis can only affect that which is within line of sight, so manipulating something via a security camera, for example, wouldn't work. Distance is another important factor because the further away something is, the more difficult it is to influence. Telekinesis is also physically taxing, especially over time or if the user is pushing themself past their limits and it's not uncommon for unconsciousness to be the result. 

Telekinesis does work on humans or other living creatures but not easily. Things with the ability to resist the effects of telekinesis - including moving vehicles and other objects in motion, for instance - often give the telekinetic a harder time. A human who isn't resisting could be held motionless by someone with heavy telekinesis or have their hair braided by someone with dextrous telekinesis. 

Geography/Biodiversity: Goibniu has four continents, each dotted with cities surrounded by farmland and open firing ranges and testing grounds, as well as some designated natural recreation zones. Going off-road on Goibniu is generally considered a dangerous decision because the landscape may be pocked with hidden mines and unstable test weapons  either placed intentionally or forgotten in clean-up efforts after testing sessions are complete. The cities and their surrounding lands operate almost like individual cells in a network rather than collaboratively as their elite researchers sometimes work on components to a project that they might not even have the whole picture of. The city you're born in is most likely going to be the city you'll die in on Goibniu, unless you go into military service or off-world. Security and secrecy are as much a vital export as the actual weapons and technology developed here. 

History: The idea for this planet was straightforward: The Coalition recognized that there was always the possibility of outside threats--whether humans splintered from the Coalition or humanity encountered extraterrestrial beings who sought war rather than cooperation. The Coalition would need a self-sustained world laser-focused on the development and testing of cutting edge military technology. It would need its own food and water, its own refineries and factories and laboratories and testing facilities. The citizens of this planet would need entertainment, education, and medical facilities. It would be the most secure military base in the galaxy, and it could also be a final hold-out for humanity if all other terraformed worlds failed.

Initially, the planet was going to be named Vulcan after the Roman weaponsmith of the Gods, but a combination of too many Star Trek nerds at the naming table making too many Star Trek jokes and a handful of proud individuals of Irish heritage proposed naming it after the Irish God of the Forge, Goibniu, instead. The motion passed, and so the citizens of Goibniu never had to learn to give the perfect Vulcan greeting.

In the early years, as terraformed planets were settled, Goibniu got the nickname Paranoia Planet because, aside from some general piracy, humanity had "evolved beyond its baser warlike nature" or whatever, but on Goibniu, vigilance was practically a religion. True, all their vigilance seemed like overkill for a long while.

Then the Civil War divided the planets, and their vigilance seemed to pay off. Granted, the planet itself was somewhat divided between those who felt they should become independent and those who viewed it as their duty to remain loyal and defend the Coalition. Ensuring that Goibniu stayed in the Coalition became a key negotiating point. In the end, Goibniu gained more independent rights and a stronger economic position within the Coalition, and it stayed.

Since the Civil War, Goibniu has remained focused on spying on Independent technological advances and keeping itself secure against Independent spies while it stays ahead, just waiting for the next war to break out...