Quadrant 8

Quadrant 8 was, before the Exterminator War, a relatively undeveloped sector of the Association. However, as the economy of neighbouring Quadrant 7 imploded, so Q8 has seen a massive rise in GDP as trade and investment has switched there. As a result, it is a boom area, newly confident.This has been particularly true of the world of Nirmanakaya, which now rivals the sector capital In The Clear economically.

The Association worlds in the Quadrant include several colonies originally founded either as religious retreats or by religious or mystical groupings. Nirmanakaya is a Sanskrit word meaning 'magically transformed body', and is part of the Buddhist mystical tradition. The world of Nirmanakaya was originally settled by Buddhist monks fleeing persecution on Earth, although the quiet rural retreats of Shamballa and Agarta are now increasingly hemmed in by the prosperous new modern cities which have arisen. Tariqah, which is Arabic for 'The Path' was likewise founded by an Islamic Sufi mystical sect.

One of the most notably different worlds in the Quadrant is Telios. Coming from the ancient Greek word for 'perfect', the world of Telios was a social experiment: it was settled only by Perfects who wished to create a genetically pure society with no chance of contamination by genetic naturals. Although the colony has since relented and allowed some naturals to settle there, nevertheless to this day strict laws of segregation and marriage are practised among its perfect citizens, and several sections of the planet are still 'perfect only' environments.

Of the other worlds in the Quadrant, the frontier world of Dink is named the founder of the colony, Dink Smallwood. A colourful personality, Smallwood was a pig breeder who - following the tragic death of his mother in a fire - set out to escape his abusive uncle and find fortune and adventure in space. Gooseberry is named for the planet's dominant plant species, not actually a Terran species but a close analogue. Jiggeroo, a slang word meaning 'glitch', is home to a colony originally founded by Australians from Earth. Finally, Goo appears to be either a world in a very early stage of development, or a failed attempt at terraforming. Almost the entire surface of the planet is covered to a depth of several metres with a protoplasmic slime mold which gives the planet its name.