Lexis

The Lexis system has 2 inhabtied planets, as well as a small gas giants and 11 planetoids too small to maintain an atmosphere and with too little mineral wealth to beworth building domes on.

Lexis III

Mostly an ocean world, with a strip of land around the equator. It is speculated that the planet's extremely high period of rotation lead to some highly unusual tectonic activity, as such a regular geography has not been seen on any other planet in the known universe.

There are two temperate zones between the mountain range and the seas on either side. Each zone is about 30 miles wide, and has an extremely stable temperature and humidity due to the stabilising effects of the oceans, and any major winds are blocked by the mountains. This is mainly a resort planet, with holiday homes being placed at 1 to 4 mile intervals along the beltline. Each such property has its own stretch of coastline, a small pier where pleasure ships can be moored, and a section of mountain which (depending on the property chosen) may be suitable for climbing or skiing.

Lexis V

This uninhabited rock was once notable for having a pair of moons with a total mass greater than the planet itself. However, this claim to fame was destroyed when fashion designer Corinthian Blake took the larger moon, Ideon, and transported it out of the system entirely. A couple of enterprising businessmen from Lexis IX then bought Lexis V entirely from its governemnt, hoping to make a profit by selling the other moon, Suleon, to one of Blake's immitators.

Failing to make the sale, the Lexis V Planetary Commission have instead decided to use it as a tax haven, registering an office there and using their own world's banking code to avoid taxes. Technically, Lexis V is therefore independant from Lexis and could theoretically be counted as a class 0 planet. However, the current commission do not claim the benefits which they could get from the church for this status, in the (well founded) belief that the Inquisition would close down their operation in very short order if it were discovered.

Further trouble could be just around the corner, however, as the sudden change in tidal forces caused by Ideon's departure are still causing some geological chaos. It is already clear to Davis Strang, the only scientist involved in the 11-man commission, that Suleon's orbit is decaying rapidly. Lexis V's crust also appears to be breaking up, with quakes now large enough to throw chunks of rock weighing several tonnes into a low orbit. This has not yet been brought to the attention of the main planetary governmnt, however, as some seismological data (as well as the spectrographic analysis of a volcanic eruption) has led Strang to believe that the core of Lexis V may actually be a crystal of pure silicon. This puzzles the scientist, and the Commission are quite happy to let him investigate secretly if there is any chance of some profit in it for them.

Lexis VII

The only gas giant in the Lexis system.

Lexis IX

A low-level but developing societly, whose economy is mostly dependant on heavy metal mining. The main city, Prole, also houses the administrative centre for Lexis III.

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Timetable code: LXS