TERRESTRIAL ECUMENOPOLIS | CORE WORLDS

Features

Imperial Centre. Coruscant has long been the capital world of the entire galaxy; as it was in the Old Republic, so it remains during the time of the Galactic Empire.

Throne World. Coruscant is the seat of power of the Galactic Empire. While many citizens assume that the palace of the Emperor—the titular figurehead of the Imperial regime—is the centre of power in the galaxy, it is not. The admirals and generals who manipulate and direct the Emperor are the true rulers of the New Order. Several Emperors have even spent most of their reign living on luxurious estates on private Imperial worlds.

Monitored. The Imperial Security Bureau maintains records of the hundreds of millions of arrivals and departures which move into and out of Coruscant each solar day. Entire cities hidden deep within the bowels of Coruscant hold data records of reportedly colossal size, almost certainly the largest in the entire galaxy.

Garrisoned. As the centre of Imperial power, Coruscant hosts an enormous military presence. While most HoloNet information portrays the Imperial Centre as a glamorous and largely urban planet full of wondrous constructions and as the apex of art and culture in the galaxy, the reality is that entire swathes of the planet are set aside for military operations.

Imperial Controlled. While several corporations possess enormous offices on Coruscant—in order to better bargain with, and ultimately lobby and sway, the Galactic Senate—and the presence of the Black Sun crime syndicate is ubiquitous in the lower levels of the planet-wide city, it is an undeniable fact that the Galactic Empire controls Coruscant with an iron fist. It brooks no resistance to its rule, and despite the powerful vested interests heavily embedded within the Imperial Centre, it remains firmly beneath the hegemony of the New Order.

Perilous. Because of the intensity of ISB interest in arrivals to, and departures from, Coruscant, many travellers—especially those without military, diplomatic or high-ranking corporate credentials—find themselves easy targets for arrest and interrogation at the whim of bureaucratic spies. No small number of visitors are accosted and brought to dimly lit cells far beneath the surface to answer the questions of the Bureau. Whether this is by design, or simply because the agents of the ISB have become heady with the power of their positions, is impossible to assess.

Locations

Galactic Senate. Coruscant is the seat of government for the entire Imperial political apparatus, including the atrophied Senate. Long ago relegated to a powerless forum for debate, the regime understands that maintaining the illusion of representation is an important part of minimising the risk of rebellion or uprising in the Galactic Empire at large. While many would argue that the Senate of the days of the Old Republic was equally corrupt, whatever its previous form the current Galactic Senate is largely composed of toadies and lobbyists in the pocket of corporate interests, if not outright mouthpieces for the dictatorial State itself.

History

Spared From The War. Where other planets were often ravaged by the notorious conflict which brought the Old Republic to its knees and ushered in the stability of the New Order, Coruscant itself remained largely free of damage or outright conflict. After the Jedi Knights were sanctioned for the impact of their duels and clashes early in the period known as the Fourth Jedi Schism, the bulk of the war shifted off-world, where it stayed. Even the enormous Grand Temple of the Jedi in the midst of Coruscant’s most elite district was peacefully reclaimed and converted into a museum.

Phenomena

A standard day on Coruscant is the standard for the entire galaxy, and lasts twenty four hours. The length of its solar year is three hundred and seventy one local days. All galactic standards—calendars, the measurement of time, various weights and measurements, the Imperial Standard language known as “Basic”—are monitored and controlled from Coruscant. The example weights, for example, which make up the metric system which the galaxy uses, are kept in the Imperial Centre of Innovation and Technology in the one of the many palatial arts districts.

Native flora and fauna on the planet is strangely diverse, despite the fact that almost all of its non-parasitic or scavenging life has disappeared. Residents pay a premium for rare and exotic plants and animals from across the galaxy, and often display them as items of prestige. That is to say that such displays are common only in the upper levels where the wealthy residents live. Down below, only the residual roaches, teeming insects and rodents, and sundry slimes and bacteria flourish in a manner the residents would prefer was not so prolific.