Terra
From Warhammer 40k
Terra (also called "Holy Terra" or "Earth") is WH40k's incarnation of future Earth.
Throne world of the Imperium, Terra is the homeworld of the Emperor and of the human race. Before the Great Crusade, Terra was plagued by a long age of war and anarchy known as the Age of Strife. Terra is perhaps the most massive Hive World within the Imperium, with a population of a hundred trillion. The bulk of Terra's population is divided into the Adepts (servants of the Emperor and his Imperium, including officials, scribes and workers) and non-Adepts (the far less privileged common citizens.)
The vast majority of Terra's citizens live in unimaginable squalor and poverty, their greatest hope is to be accepted into the Adeptus Terra as unskilled workers; great queues of citizens wait outside government employment buildings for just such a chance. These crowds can easily erupt into riots, which must be put down by squads of Adeptus Arbites shock troops.
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[edit] Terra's surface
Terra's entire surface, with the exception of the Antarctic region, is covered in labyrinthine edifices of state, including the Imperial Palace, the Ecclesiarchal Palace and many departments of the Imperial government. The base of the Inquisition on Terra is beneath the ice caps of the south polar region. [1]
[edit] Pilgrimage
Billions of pilgrims flock to the planet every day, eager for a glimpse of the Imperial Palace or one of the untold number of gargantuan Imperial cathedrals. In spite of the fact that thousands of pilgrims are accepted daily, many more are kept waiting. Such is the scale of the Imperium that many of these pilgrims' journeys were started by their ancestors and only centuries later will a member of the family complete the pilgrimage. Many will set out hopeful and never come close to their goal. Those who make it are said to never return, crushed to death by their fellow pilgrims, executed by Adeptus Arbites for straying into restricted areas, or perhaps killed by the crazed and destitute hive citizens, violent gangers, etc.
[edit] The Golden Throne
Terra is the resting place of the Immortal Emperor of Mankind, where he has sat on the life-preserving Golden Throne, neither alive nor dead, for ten thousand years. He and the Palace are guarded by the Adeptus Custodes. Among them is a select inner corps of three hundred who never leave his side, known as the Companions.
[edit] The Astronomican
The Astronomican is a psychic beacon located on Earth, and is a vital navigation aide to the Imperium's spacegoing vessels. Without it, faster-than-light travel through the Warp would be next to impossible and the Imperium would collapse.
[edit] Luna
Luna (Terra's moon) has also been colonized and is home to immense planetary defense lasers charged with protecting Terra from invasion. These defenses inflicted savage losses on the invading rebel fleets of Warmaster Horus, during the latter stages of the Horus Heresy. It is the greatest shipyard and naval base in the Imperium of Man at the time of the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy. Luna also gives its name to a class of Imperial Cruiser called the Lunar Class.
[edit] References
- ↑ (Inquisition War Trilogy by Ian Watson)
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