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 This article is a start-class article. It needs further improvement to obtain good article status. This article is part of the Sanctuary Stars project.
The Ecumene
O Ecúmeno
Emblem of the Ecumene.svg
Emblem of the Ecumene
File:Star map of the Ecumene (simple).svg
Star map of the Ecumene
Demographics
(est. 4020 CEC)
Population 2,304,000,000,000
Major languages Lunar English,
Standard Apollonian,
Octopoid chromatophoric
Major cultigens Apollonian, Exterian, Gasosic, Octopoid, Tellurian
Religion 21.23% Abrahamicism
18.58% Irreligion
9.86% Saganism
9.54% Concestrism
9.11% Ultraphysicalism
8.81% Stellar Ancestrism
7.43% Buddhism
5.47% Hinduism
4.48% Bronowskism
2.98% Harmonicism
2.51% Other
Demonym Ecue
Exology
Controlled radius
from Sol
5 pc
Controlled volume 523.3 pc3
Star systems 52
Terrestrial planets (Inhabited) 212 (94)
Gas planets (Inhabited) 108 (19)
Minor planets (Inhabited) 493.673±12.5m (133.21k)
Planetary satellites (Inhabited) 22.69k (997)
Largest star (M) Sirius (2.063)
Largest planet (MJ) WISE 0855-0714 (10.476)
Politics
Government Consensual union
Legislature Ecumenical Synod
Capital Apollo, Sol system
Formation 2642 CEC
Economics
(est. 4020 CEC)
Situation Post-scarcity
I/O Efficiency Very high (0.998)
Material QOL Very comfortable (0.985)
Survival labour Very low (0.007)

The Ecumene is the interstellar sovereign state comprising the largest, innermost portion of Human inhabited space in the 41st century CEC. Established at the Conference of Planets and Moons in the mid-27th century, the Ecumene was originally composed of only the Sol system following the end of the Capitulatory War. At present, the Ecumene de jure extends to a five parsec radius around Sol, with all space inside of this limit considered integral Ecumene space. De facto, the Ecumene's administration of this space is limited to its constituent star systems, with interstellar space being largely uninhabited and only ever transited by interstellar vessels. Travel between star systems takes years at mintimaxis, but microwormhole communications permits effectively superliminal transfer of information between Ecumene star systems as well as itinerant Astrospheres.

The Ecumene is a political union ruled by the consensus-based Ecumenical Synod. Individual habitats, ranging in scope from whole planets to small space stations, are effectively self-administering but all equally subject to Ecumenical law. The Ecumenical Fleet is responsible for the enforcement of Ecumenical law in interstellar and interplanetary space, while the Ecumenical Guard is responsible for enforcement on habitats. Each inhabited Ecumene star system maintains a vertically integrated array of shipyards, spacedocks, and fleet groups for the proactive defence of Ecumene space, with all of these components being subject to the Ecumene-wide Admiralty and Synod based on Apollo. The Ecumenical Guard is typically administered per-habitat, but in special cases, authority over any subject Guard group can be directly imposed by the Synod.

Membership in the Synod is granted through nomination by a currently serving member and confirmation by consensus of the whole organ. Appointments are life-long; due to the widespread adoption of Ambrosian immortality across the Ecumene, there have been relatively few members of the Synod whose membership concluded upon the end of their lives. As of 4023 CEC, there are a total of 11,293 serving Members of the Synod, with only 308 of these Members being mortal. Due to the length of the average Member's lifespan, decision-making in the Synod can take years before consensus can be reached on contentious issues. The longest decision to reach consensus on record took 89 years of debate (the adoption of the Feasible Limit policy in the 34th century). The average time for a decision to be reach via consensus, however, only amounts to roughly 7 Earth months. Since the widespread adoption of microwormhole communication in the 39th century, the spread of information regarding new decisions by the Synod is effectively superliminal, greatly enhancing the legal cohesion and political stability of the Ecumene.