Planetary Data

Planetary Structure
As is the hallmark of Hermian worlds, Mercury is a small body that has a remarkably high density, comparable to that of larger terrestrial planets.  This is primarily due to the presence of a dense metallic core, representing nearly 75% the total mass of the planet.  The origin of such a world is likely due events early in the formation of the Solar System.  A larger world likely had begun to form here, but a massive impact with a body perhaps half as large as the original Mercury stripped away much of the planet's lighter materials.  What was left was a planet with a thin crust and a much smaller radius.  The core of the planet is semi-molten, but still too cool to allow for any form of active geology, although a resulting magnetic field is generated.

Exploration and Colonization
Mercury had long proven to be a source of fascination for the Human race, even after it was learned that the small planet, closest to Sol, was little more than a cratered ball of nearly dead rock.  Visible from Earth for only brief periods before sunset and after sunrise, an air of mystery continued to surround this planet even after the fly-by of the American probe, Mariner 10 in the 1970's CE.  When the Messenger probe confirmed the presence of polar ice deposits in the early 21st Century, as well as a promising amount of heavy metals, that air of mystery turned quickly to the promise of resources.

The decades between the Messenger probe and 2070 CE saw very little in actual exploration of Mercury.  While the resources there were often cited as a primary reason to visit the planet, those same resources were far more easily procured from various asteroidal sources, both in the Belt and from Near Earth Asteroids.  Because of this, no manned mission was sent to the planet until 2062 CE.  By this point, the young but already powerful Amtech corporation had developed manned vessels capable of safe travel in this heated and radiation rich region of the Solar System.  While the ill-fated AMT Dutchmann was a rather dark and most famous example of these ships, the technology itself was sound and soon spread to other corporations and organizations.  Among these was the Morris Laboratories, whose primary interest lay in alternate power sources.

In 2062 CE Morris Laboratories sent the MLS Hermes Pathfinder to Mercury.  The purpose of this mission was to establish a beachhead on the planet in the form of an automated and unmanned outpost, one which would be populated in the near future.  The mission, a resounding success, did indeed pave the way for the arrival of future Morris Laboratory personnel, and in 2068 CE the first of several teams arrived.  Established beneath the north polar region, the outpost worked furiously at developing living space and environmental systems that would keep the scientists comfortable, even though they would be located  nearly 300 meters below the surface.  By 2070 CE, the Icarus Base was fully operational, and work was begun on various alternate energy programs.

Fairly quickly, a system of solar collectors was established in Mercurian orbit, and utilized to beam power via microwaves to various points in the Inner system, where colonies and outposts were in need of it.  Even so, the primary recipient of this power was Earth, and when the Mercurian Solar Power Grid Network was completed in 2086 CE, Icarus Base and Morris Laboratories began to see a tremendous amount of income.  Almost immediately Icarus Base began to expand its holdings on the planet, and research in other areas was likewise expanded.  In one area in particular, research was increased to the point where results were reached in a very short time.

In 2090 CE Morris Laboratories created the first viable antimatter reactor on Mercury.  Tremendously unwieldy in size and power requirements, this reactor was little more than a primitive show piece, but the point of its existence was clear:  with its existence was the promise of further development, and practical applications within a few years.  Fusion reactors, in practical use since 2049 CE, remained the primary source of power used throughout the inner Solar System, however, and their designs were becoming more and more efficient with each year.  Indeed, even as the news of the antimatter reactor was broken, fusion had already been hailed as the only viable source of cheap power available, and it would remain so.

This may have been a truthful statement, at least for the time being.  The Mercurian Solar Power Grid was already falling into disfavor as fusion reactors began to provide power across the nations of the Earth, and the constant maintenance of the power satellites in the harsh Mercurian environment was beginning to become cost-prohibitive.  by 2094 CE, less than ten years after its introduction, the Grid was taken offline and the satellites broken down.  A single satellite, named Grid One, remained in Mercury orbit as a monument to the brief but prosperous reign of the Grid.  Still, this was not the end of the solar power era, even if fusion was the power source of choice.  With the growing development and use of nanotechnology, greater engineering feats were becoming possible.  And Morris Laboratories began a new phase to their contribution to life in the Inner System.

In 2103 CE, Morris Laboratories began to construct great fields of solar collectors on the surface of Mercury.  Specially designed nanobots, created and exactingly programmed by Dancer Nanotech Industries, began using surface material on Mercury to create elevated panels that would absorb solar radiation and transfer it to power cells of varying designs.  These cells, utilized in everything from hand-held devices to generators for entire space ships, soon became the new major export of Mercury, and this time the demand for them was not offset by fusion technology.  As the years passed, more and more of the surface of Mercury would be covered by these collection panels.  The nanobots, controlled by a master center at Icarus Base, also up kept the panels, repairing damage incurred by micrometeorite strikes and natural degradation.  As they were self replicating and self-repairing themselves, the 'bots continued their work unabated.  It would not be until 2567 CE that the final phase of construction was complete and nearly the entire surface of the planet would be covered.  But until that point, there were many other phases of Mercurian evolution.

This next phase was begun in response to the earlier launching of the Alpha Centauri Project, a colonization effort of the nearest star.  While those ships were powered by high output fusion reactors, it was recognized that the promise of antimatter would be a great boon to such exploration efforts.  Morris Laboratories itself continued to pave the way in this field of research, and their efforts to create a power reactor suitable for use in populated areas began to show fruit even as the ACP was launched towards the Black.  In 2107 CE, Icarus Base switched over from solar and fusion generators to the first fully operational, commercial grade antimatter reactor.  It was a demonstration that sent ripples throughout the inhabited Solar System.  The power generation of this technology was, it seemed, proven.  The only major hurdle remaining was the cost of actually creating antimatter itself, in economical quantities.

This began to be a feasible goal in 2110 CE when Morris Laboratories began to move their offices and center of operations to Icarus Base.  A major event in and of itself, this influx to Mercury boosted the permanent population from a few hundred "seasonal" workers to a year around population of nearly 5,000 people, including families and often extended relations.  By all rights, this was the year that Mercury became a true colony, and it was the year when Icarus Base became known as Icarus City.  The move did more than change the status of the settlement.  With such a large population, R&D and practical application became much more efficient, eventually leading to the acceleration of various Morris Laboratories projects.  Premiere among these was the development of economical antimatter production, and by 2118 CE the first of several subsurface element super colliders was completed.  While it was still too primitive to make the production of antimatter economical, it did spur production rates, and the economic standing of the colony as a whole.  Future colliders would increase this even further.  But before this was to happen, Mercury became the unforeseen center of revolution in the Inner System.

The Independent State of Hermes
For decades a competition between Morris Laboratories and Amtech had been waged, often times becoming quite heated, as Amtech sought to make their profit by providing resources from the Belt and other asteroids to a construction-happy and energy-hungry Inner System, while Morris Laboratories itself sought to export only power.  With the advent of antimatter as an exportable resource, Morris Laboratories began to rival Amtech in both wealth and influence.  However, it was still beholden to Earth-based governments, and taxed severely.  Profits remained high, but the potential for even greater profits was plainly visible to those who had the vision.  Indeed, many Laboratory officials had long believed that the sheer isolation of Mercury would and should provide the insulation needed to protect it from Earth.  A movement began to spread soon after the central offices relocated to Mercury:  power supplies they would share, but the profits from it they wanted to retain.

In 2110 CE, Morris Laboratories reestablished themselves as an independent government, naming their new nation the Independent State of Hermes.  Its citizens became Hermians by default, and Morris Laboratories ceased to exist.  Several new governmental sponsored research and development firms were contracted out by the fledgling government, chief among these the Morris Technological Institute, which continued to develop antimatter production methods.  But more immediate were the ripples that this move created in the many off-world societies of the Solar System at large.  Almost immediately, Amtech itself declared its independence from Earth, and over the next few years many of the Stations followed suit.  Even those outposts in space and on worlds that could not survive without aid from Earth or other, resource-rich governments began to break away from Earth society.  A cultural revolution had begun to take place, one which eventually lead to the creation, by the United Nations, of the International Military Police Force in 2124 CE, whose initial purpose was to keep further moves of independence squelched.

This did not keep the movement towards independence subdued, however, and one could argue that the creation of the IMPF only increased the urge to be free of amore and more demanding Earth.  The Stations themselves began to vie for independence at a greater rate, and Hermes began to support them.  In 2130 CE Hermes began to defy United Nation restrictions on supplying Stations directly with resources by importing solar cell batteries and components for antimatter reactors.  Indeed, many Stations soon had reactors, silently waiting for their so very volatile fuel which Hermes had yet to deliver.  Amtech too began to supply the Stations, and their aid was in direct opposition to what Hermes was providing.  It was not long until tensions between Hermes, Amtech, and the UN grew to a point where in 2133 CE a new cold war was declared.  Lasting for the next twenty years, this cold war would see the near total ostracizing of Amtech from the Inner System, and a down fall of Hermian profit.  More often than not Hermes was censured by the United Nations, who themselves were slowly gaining in power over the nations of Earth and their off world holdings.  Imports from Hermes were strictly regulated to legitimate governments, primarily on the homeworld, and unlicensed imports were impounded and utilized by the UN directly.  But profit continued to urge Hermian business interests that were unsanctioned, leading at times to military intervention by the ever-growing IMPF.

When the Climatic Red Line was reached on Earth, the United Nations became the dominant power in CisLunar Space.  With much more latitude to control events, the UN became much more aggressive in stopping unsanctioned imports, and the IMPF began to forcibly seize Hermian vessels (and other vessels as well) for inspections.  This heavy-handedness of the UN came to a climax when the IMPF, in 2153 CE, began to occupy the Stations, which had always been seen as teetering on the cusp of independence.  The response by the Stations was immediate:  armed revolt.  Thus began the Station Wars.  Hermes, which had never developed any sort of defensive tactics or technology, swiftly withdrew to Mercury and, for a time, remained isolated from the War.

In 2156 CE, however, Amtech began to receive emigrants from Earth, driven from their home world by the climatic chaos and the numerous wars which had begun to spring up in response to the lack of resources available for the planet-bound nations.  Little attention was paid to this activity, however, and by the time that the war ended and the Stations received their independence in 2157 CE, Hermian population had grown to nearly 13 million people.  Excavation and establishment of new settlements was booming on Mercury, and for a time the antimatter production of the planet was focused on powering these new centers of Human life.  But with the independence of the Stations, and many other colonies, a new cry for power was soon to be answered by Hermes.  Once again legitimate exportation of solar power cells was begun, and the old question of economically feasible antimatter production was being raised.

The answer began to appear with the founding of the Inner System Commonwealth in 2163 CE.  A united Inner Solar System had created a much broader economic base, and old rivalries were, for a time, set aside in the rush to bring prosperity to the many independent nations on and off of the Earth.  MTI began to devote the entirety of its resources to the old question, and the answer was soon forthcoming, to be found in an old solution that had long been deemed monetarily impossible.  In 2172 CE, work was begun on the Helios Super Collider, a collider that would girdle the entire equatorial circumference of Mercury.  Set some 500 meters below the surface, from space the planet would soon gain the appearance of a bisected sphere.  The solar array nanobots were programmed to cease construction along the equator, and to breakdown those panels that were present there (as they had already done along the polar regions of the planet).  With the resources of the entire Commonwealth behind the project, construction time was limited to some thirty years, with the projected being completed in 2204 CE.  Almost immediately antimatter production was begun, and Hermes was well-secured as the power center of the inhabited solar system.  Fusion-amat reactors began to make their appearances, and travel throughout the Inner System was soon to be easier than ever.

For the next century Hermes was locked within a status quo, exporting solar power cells and antimatter technology  The population of the planet continued to slowly grow, and several new cities began to spring up at several points beneath the planet's surface.  Little indication of this colonization was visible from the surface, save for night lights when viewed from the dark side of the planet.  Icarus City, the capitol of Hermes, sprawled beneath much of the north pole, while Antipode had come to cover much of the southern polar region.  A single major orbital station had been placed in a polar orbit in 2221 CE;  named Station Daedalus, it was and remains the single entry port to Mercury, with non-sanctioned ship-to-shore travel having been restricted since the beginning of the Helios construction.

A new population influx began to occur in 2305 CE as the New Exodus begins to grip the Earth.  Fleeing the new climatic changes that are driving the home world from a tropical, storm-ridden planet to one that is falling into a new ice age, people from Earth began to flee into space, emigrating to Stations, Luna, Mars, and even Mercury.  While the Exodus culminated in an extrasolar colonial effort of the same name in 2330 CE, a steady if decreased influx of people continued to arrive at Mercury for several decades.  With the population came a new boom in construction.  Deeper levels were built beneath the surface, while more commonly entirely new communities continued to branch out just beneath the surface.  Hermes was enjoying the boom of Commonwealth civilization.

The beginning of the Commonwealth War in 2363 CE crippled this prosperity to a great degree.  People began to return to the Earth from other parts of the System, desperate to live in a habitat that would not catastrophically decompress in a shooting incident, and as such emigration to Hermes came to a near complete stop.  However, power was still being sought after, and rather than risk attack by nations desperate for it, Hermes began to export it en mass.  It did not take long, however, for the Commonwealth Congress to impose restrictions on antimatter technology and materials exportation.  Fearing that the materials could be used to make major weapon systems, the Congress demanded that only solar power cells be provided to any nation involved in the War.  Hermes readily complied;  the presence of an IMPF fleet to "safeguard" the planet aided greatly in this compliance, as did the presence of troops on Station Daedalus.  While no troops were allowed on the planet's surface, enough damage could easily be done from orbit to ensure the compliance of the Hermian government.

The end of this War saw the near total fall of the IMPF.  Driven from CisLunar Space by the shockingly adept New Church military forces, the remains of the IMPF sought refuge wherever they could, including Hermes.  Several fleet ships took up residence about the planet, and Daedalus was all but occupied by those forces present.  Lacking the military expertise to drive them off, Hermes reluctantly accepted their presence as a new fact of life in a solar system that was now completely and totally torn apart.

Mercury and the Rise to A League World
Despite the burdensome presence of the IMPF fleet remnant, Hermes was soon freed of any worries with the arrival of the New Church Hegemony.  In 2372 CE that portion of the Fleet was peaceably absorbed by the Hegemony, and the nation of Hermes itself became a part of the Hegemony proper.  While it had lost its individual identity as a nation, it had become a part of something greater, something that allowed it to prosper as it never had before.  Power exports resumed, and Mercury played an important role in reconstructing the fallen societies and cultures of the former Commonwealth.  Antimatter was carefully regulated during the Hegemony, but with the completion of the solar arrays and their coverage of the planet's surface, Mercury had plenty of exportable power.  At one point there was even a proposal to attempt the terraforming of Mercury, but that plan was soon labeled as simply too difficult and easily disrupted.  A stable population of nearly 800 million would dwell on Mercury throughout the Hegemony Period, with immigrants attending the Morris Technological Institute, as well as other institutions, adding nearly another 500,000 people to the Hermian mix.

In 2818 CE the ArcWays had been discovered and deciphered, and the Hegemony had begun the Renewed Contact Program, a program meant to explore all ArcWay-linked worlds, establish new colonies, and renew ties with old colonies that had already been established on some of these worlds.  Renewed Contact more often than not brought these distant worlds under the wing of the Hegemony, either as direct members of the government, or as protectorates.  In any case, Mercury was the source of power for these foundlings, with antimatter technology exported out to them, bringing them into their own new golden ages.  The Unity War of 2840 to 2853 CE saw Mercury as the supplier of power for the Hegemony war machine, including the construction of several antimatter warheads, each one capable of destroying completely the truly gigantic Amashan warships.  When none of these weapons were used, they were broken down and the antimatter used to power Amashan cities, now under the tutelage of the New Church.

During the New Church Dominion, Mercury suffered very little.  The leaders of the planet had already been replaced with politicians sympathetic to the Dominion cause, and when the Dominion itself seized power over the Hegemony, Mercury was a world that secured Solar System compliance to the new government.  The device which sterilized the surface of the world Caledonia, in the Upsilon Andromedae A System, was manufactured on Mercury, and into the League Era this fact has brought more shame on the pride of Hermians than anything else.

Indeed, because of that device, antimatter production became a very tightly controlled process, and even today antimatter is produced only as needed.  Stockpiles are forbidden, and no other world in the League is permitted to produce it.  Even so, Mercury today remains a thriving planet, and certainly one of the most important worlds in the entirety of the Local Neighborhood.