Liriinan

Of all the worlds in this loosely controlled subsector, Liriinan is the most independent of all. This isn’t a deliberate choice by its citizens, but an outgrowth of the fact that the planet’s riches are so great that there is little need for them to engage in interstellar trade. Visiting Terran merchants are currently introducing them to the difference between “need” and “want.” Home to a half-billion people, Liriinan is a huge market for Terran merchants, despite its relative isolation. More than any other world in the subsector, it is free to do as it wishes; it is not under the direct control of Sharurshid or the Imperial aristocracy. The local population is beginning to take advantage of this freedom by engaging in “illegal” manufacturing – it is producing goods outside the fixed Sharurshid quotas, specifically intended for trade with Terran visitors. The total amount of illicit manufacturing is quite small in comparison to Liriinan’s handling of its own needs. Only a few thousand people have shown the mental flexibility to try it, though the number continues to expand as young people come of age after being exposed to the practice. The only other factor limiting trade is the planet’s mediocre starport, but as Liriinan is a long run from Terra anyway, this doesn’t affect most ships that call. The world itself is one of the most hospitable known to the Confederation, a near-paradise at the end of a long trading route. A slightly lower gravity contributes to the giddy feeling many Terrans experience while visiting here. With less land than Terra, all in the temperate and subtropical zones, there are no deserts or arctic wastelands on the whole planet. The local climate and soil are very favorable for imported food crops and fruit trees, some of which grow so easily that they might almost be considered weeds. The people have developed away from standard Vilani attitudes in their isolation, and are now more relaxed in manner and dress than Imperials on other worlds. All of this makes Liriinan a favorite port of call for Terran merchants, who half-jokingly refer to it as “Tahiti.”