Freelance Traveller

Anther

by Timothy Collinson

This article originally appeared in the May/June 2025 issue

Anther (Core 2021) A300697-E N    Ht Na NI Va    625

The world of Anther is unprepossessing piece of real-estate right in the heart of the Imperium.  Little of the surface of the world is inhabited and the downport is an extremely limited affair.  However, the large highport, called Cormach, has developed into one of the largest highports in the subsector as well as being a financial centre of some considerable influence.  Just one Jump 4 from Capital, it is a communications hub and boasts a top-notch starport and some of the highest technology available in the sector.  A separate Navy Base and shipyard also orbit the planet. 

The very first orbital station around Anther was built by Jef McCormach exactly a hundred years after the Sylean Federation was formed in -650 and there has a been a continuous presence in the system since then.  The current station is actually the seventh complete rebuild for the port although all of its incarnations have continually had additions and modifications made.  Common usage often uses ‘Anther’ for the highport and travellers may well hear Cormach and Anther in the same sentence with both words referring to the station.  Those who use Anther in this way would then refer to the planet below as ‘Anther Proper’.

There are over 1000 ‘decks’ by most counts although many are double height and some of the upper decks are triple height.  In general, the wealthier parts of the station are ‘higher up’ with poorer areas on the lower decks – sometimes referred to rather dismissively as ‘downstairs’; there is a certain airiness to the station which is unusual.  This is accentuated by wide alleyways, as its corridors are called, with soil filled gutters running along the edges and a variety of plant life, bushes and even small trees adorning the margins and bulkheads.  There are even wider boulevards which form major thoroughfares.  The ‘natural’ feel this gives to inhabitants – although it is anything but natural and in reality is very carefully maintained – provides an invaluable sense of well-being, and these ‘Hidden Gardens of Anther’ draw visitors from all over the subsector.

Another draw for many of the wealthier nobles, traders, and entrepreneurs of the sector is the strong financial centre that has developed on Cormach.  Imperial banks and megacorporations often have their headquarters here; sector wide corporations and banks almost all do.  There is a bustling stock market, or bourse, that trades throughout the 24 hours the station keeps; on lower levels there are government run casinos that cynics say offer much the same in the way of services with less of the regulation.  In actual fact, the regulation of the casinos can be tighter.

The highport is run by the five Divisions – Administration, Estates, Finance, Legal, and Traffic.

• The Administration Division manages all the internal affairs of the station which aren’t covered by the more specialized Divisions.  Everything from permits and certification of trade and shipping, through housing and commercial franchises, to personnel and records keeping.
• The Estates Division manages the fabric and physical environment of the highport from major construction projects to repairs.  They are also responsible for atmosphere, lighting, heating and power as well as such places as the parks the station boasts and of course the alleyway flora.  They also manage cargo handling and ship repairs.  Ship construction, however, is handled separately and there is thought being given to making this a new division in its own right rather than rather a hodgepodge of Admin, Estates, Finance and Legal.
• The Finance Division is not responsible for the accounting necessary to manage the station itself – that’s handled by Administration.  The Finance Division oversees the banking, trading, and business environment that the station is home to and ensures it is conducive to keeping the Credits flowing.
• The Legal Division manages everything from customs and excise through to the judiciary, including policing the highport and indeed the wider system including the surface of Anther.  Curiously, emergency services both within Cormach and in its immediate vicinity are a part of this Division rather than Estates.  There is some bureaucratic wrangling over the situation which was introduced in the 600s following various judicial challenges over jurisdiction between Estates and Legal, which led to a consolidation of powers under Legal to streamline response protocols and reduce interdepartmental conflict.
• The Traffic Division manages all the starships and spaceships arriving and departing from the highport, as well as all the traffic in orbit around Anther and out to the standard Jump points.  Estates manage the internal lifts, shuttletubes and other transport infrastructure within the station.

Naturally, real life isn’t this cut and dried and there can be interminable discussions if not arguments about whose jurisdiction something is or isn’t.  The Division Heads meet as an executive but infighting and attempts to gain control of certain aspects of highport activity are common, as are attempts by Heads to ensure that their Division is not responsible for less desirable activities.  There is a Port Director, selected from among the Division Heads by the Division Heads – but this is largely a ceremonial role and has no real power over the Divisions.  Despite sounding like a recipe for disaster, the system has served Cormach well over the centuries and the Navy has rarely had to be called in to settle more serious disputes.  There was, however, one particular ‘unrest’ back in 787 which was eventually put down.  There are sections of Cormach which have been kept in the partially ruined state which was left after the fighting.  Even now there are re-enactments of the battles which draw large tourist crowds.

The population of 6,305,000 doesn’t reflect the millions of travellers who transit through the station each year, but it is still a large orbital population.  Another 81,000 people can be found on the surface of Anther, involved in science, mining and a small amount of tourism.  Some 20,000 people are scattered throughout other worlds and moons of the Anther system.  The law level of 7 allows the carrying of bladed weapons in closed carrybags although travellers are advised this should be discreet.  Nobles may carry tipped foils openly.  Narcotics are outlawed.

The starport is considered entirely separate to Cormach Station proper.  It has some 400 decks of its own although the actual layout can be enormously variable given the size of some the berths, hangars and warehouse facilities.  There are extensive and busy terminals, freight docks, transient accommodation, medical facilities and more.  There is a startown in the vicinity of the main exits and entrances which is generally defined as much of the core areas of Decks 001 to 005, although there are dining establishments and other boutiques as well as a variety of standards of hotel within the starport itself.

At the very base of the entire structure is the Traffic Division concerned with local traffic – in orbit around Anther – as well as large sensor arrays that stretch for over a kilometre.  At the other end of the main starport are Customs, the Legal Division headquarters and the Starport Authority or SPA.

Running through the central core of the entire station are four 4m diameter shuttletubes with major interchanges at the Customs levels and stations throughout their lengths for either express shuttles or local ones.  There are many minor gravitic lift shafts, escalators, ramps and stairwells, as well as various horizontal modes of transport throughout the station.  Four satellite shuttle tubes run from Decks 275 to 910 with horizontal connections.  Construction is underway to add another ring and set of spokes on Deck 740.  Other means of transport include slidewalks, and in major thoroughfares with sufficient width, ‘bugs’ – electric vehicles capable of carrying 2, 4 or 6 people.  They are entirely under computer guidance.  In ‘night’ phases of the Station’s routine, delivery bugs may be seen servicing local shops.

In such a large and populous facility, virtually anything can be found.  The diagram shows the general arrangement of the station and highlights some important features.  This should not be taken as exhaustive, however, and for example, although there is a main engineering section between Decks 1 and 100, there are other satellite facilities spread throughout the station, from power stations to sewage treatment centres.  There are two large parks on Deck 000 and Deck 1000 but there are other open spaces spread through the decks between.  As well as many smaller, local, ones, three large markets or bazaars exist: the Upper Bazaar (Deck 750), specialising in (although is not exclusively devoted to) clothing, the Middle Bazaar (Deck 500) known for its food and spice stalls, and the Lower Bazaar (Deck 250) where it is said that absolutely anything can be bought for a price.  All three operate throughout the sennight with different traders each day to meet demand for space.  They are almost always crowded, busy, and lively.

A large Central Business District is located mainly in the central area of Decks in the 800s and the Finance Division occupies a section nearby.  The Bourse is also located in this area.  There are three main Quartiers where Vargr, Zhodani and Aslan have large communities, but there are smaller such areas for those sophonts and other non-humans as well.  In addition, there is a three-deck high water deck, 444, for aquatic life forms.  Some decks are kept hotter or colder than usual; wetter or dryer, although this is more to support the variety of plant life the station maintains rather than for the inhabitants specifically.  The traditional six seasons are also maintained in some areas – partly to give some variety but mainly to allow seasonal vegetation to flourish.

Other places of interest include the areas damaged in the Unrest of 787 (and left unreconstructed), the High University of Anther covering several decks at +/-700 around a segment of the edge of the station, major embassies in the 950s, and Cathedrals in the High Park.  A large stream or small river (3m wide and 1 or 2m deep) called the Anther Bourne wends its way through the High Park until, at one edge of the station, it plummets ten decks (50m) into a large viewing gallery and promenade known as The Drop.  The waterfall forms the backdrop to a view out into space, or over Anther, depending on the orientation of Cormach.  The deck is very slightly angled down towards the outside, and the full height windows are also arranged in an overhang so that the whole effect is extremely vertiginous.  (Roll END or less to be able to stay in the space without a severe attack of vertigo.)  It is a popular place for marriage proposals to be made.

For the very wealthy there is a docking ring at Deck 900 which serves, at considerable cost, the most exclusive hotels and private mansions.  Ships berthing here do not avoid customs but pay considerably for the privilege of individual inspections and expedited bureaucracy.  Essentially the entire ship of such visitors passes through immigration, so controls are often tighter than in the starport proper.

Finally, at the top of the station and visible from every point of the High Park, is the central spire.  Somewhat reminiscent of the Moot Spire on Capital, the base accommodates the Administrative Division and the portion of the Traffic Division that is concerned with System traffic rather than local traffic.  There is a viewing gallery above that, but the reminder of the spire is the personal fief of the Count of Anther.

Visitors to the station may notice various plants along the alleyways.  The ‘Hidden Gardens’ are a noted tourist feature of Cormach and even draw botanists and researchers from around the subsector.  Details of just a few can be found in the Field Guide to Selected Plants of Anther [see Second Scions’ Society from March Harrier Publications].  Anyone searching for a particular plant can hire a specialist guide from the Estates Division or can ask some of the alleybrats throughout the station who may not know themselves, but for a small sum will be able to find out through their network of friends.  Common flowers can easily be seen as well as edible fruit bushes such as plumps,  stravvberries, windowberries, Solomani pomegranites (with large stones), groovers, and Aslangoes.  Marjflies may be seen flittering between flowers and fruit.