ROMAN EMPIRE
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The Roman Empire is the dominant state of the Roman worlds. It has established jump gates across human-colonized space, extending Rome's influence throughout vast regions of the cosmos. The Romans view space as the realm of the gods and pursue two primary objectives there: resource extraction and the search for the divine zones where the gods are believed to exist.
Rome has developed numerous colonial planets, building its wealth through large-scale resource mining. Because of its high profitability, many plebeians and provincial settlers migrate to these colonies to work in the mining industry. Some planets, however, have harsh and dangerous environments. While such conditions discourage many, the risks also promise enormous rewards.
Patricians, seeking to maximize their wealth, deploy large numbers of slaves to monopolize resource extraction on these perilous worlds.
Roman space exploration is also shaped by religion. The Romans hold that the knowledge which enabled their technological civilization was sent to humanity by Prometheus. Space is therefore treated as a sacred realm associated with the gods.
Yet despite this divine mission, Rome's aggressive expansion across the stars has created growing challenges. The ever-increasing number of colonies has made it difficult to maintain control.
History
Origins
When Troy fell to the Greek coalition in the twelfth century BCE, Aeneas, a member of the Trojan royal line, escaped with his father Anchises, his son Ascanius, and the household gods. Leading a group of refugees, he wandered across the Mediterranean and briefly encountered Queen Dido of Carthage before finally reaching Latium on Terra. There, King Latinus welcomed him and, following an oracle, offered his daughter Lavinia in marriage. This angered Turnus, the Rutulian king who had been betrothed to her, and war broke out. Aeneas killed Turnus in single combat, secured victory, and founded Lavinium, uniting the Latins with the Trojan settlers.
After Aeneas’s death, his son Ascanius left Lavinium and built Alba Longa at the foot of Mount Alba. The city became the leading power of the Latin League. Generations later, a succession struggle broke out between Numitor and Amulius, sons of King Procas. Amulius seized the throne, deposed his elder brother, killed Numitor’s sons, and forced Numitor’s daughter Rhea Silvia into the order of the Vestal Virgins to prevent her from bearing heirs. Despite this, she gave birth to twin sons, Romulus and Remus, claiming that the god Mars was their father. Amulius imprisoned her and ordered the infants to be drowned in the Tiber, but the swollen river prevented this, and the servants set the babies adrift in a basket.
When the waters receded, the basket lodged near the Ficus Ruminalis, where a she-wolf found and suckled the twins. A shepherd named Faustulus later discovered them and, with his wife Acca Larentia, raised them as his own. The brothers grew into natural leaders among the local shepherds. As adults, they became entangled in a fight with the herdsmen of Alba Longa. Remus was captured and taken to Numitor, and during the interrogation the truth of their origins was revealed. Romulus gathered their companions, overthrew Amulius, and restored Numitor to the throne.
After reinstating their grandfather, the twins chose to found a new city near the site of their rescue along the Tiber. Romulus favored the Palatine Hill, while Remus preferred the Aventine, and the disagreement escalated. They turned to augury, seeking a divine sign from the flight of birds. Remus reportedly saw six vultures first, but Romulus claimed to have seen twelve. Each insisted that the gods supported him. In the ensuing clash, Remus mocked Romulus by leaping over the boundary of the new settlement, and Romulus killed him in anger, declaring that anyone who crossed his walls would meet the same fate.
Romulus then named the new city Rome, after himself. According to the Roman scholar Varro, the city’s foundation date was April 21, 753 BCE. As Rome’s first king, Romulus created the Senate, expanded the population, and established the basic institutions that would guide the early Roman state.
The Conquest of Egypt
In 30 BCE, Rome conquered Egypt, turning it into a Roman province. During this time, Rome gained access to the vast body of Codex knowledge preserved in the Library of Alexandria. Many scholars who had been active in the library came under the direct patronage of Roman aristocrats and continued their work interpreting the Codex.
From this point onward, Rome achieved unparalleled technological advancement and rapidly accelerated its expansion, embarking on a period of conquest that no other power could rival.
Interstellar Expansion
Rome's conquest of Egypt in 724 AUC brought the Codex and its interpreters under Roman control. Patronage of that work drove a long period of computational, industrial, and engineering development, while the state restricted access to the recovered knowledge.
Classified jump trials were conducted in 1258 AUC. Ten years later, the Empire attempted its first interstellar jump, and the legion transport Hispana began its maiden mission. Advance vessels established an initial jump gate so that supply convoys could support the construction of a permanent route.
The expanding Via Imperii opened the Initium and Limen systems to sustained travel, settlement, resource extraction, and military deployment. Vesta became the earliest colony of the first external system; Terminus later marked the inhabited frontier of the network.
Expansion joined aristocratic investment to a religious conviction that space belonged to the divine realm. Its pace also created political strain: distant colonies became harder to govern, unrest on Pax required a military response, and competing factions disputed whether investment in Terminus should continue.
Codex interpreters have identified Eboracum in the Ultima Thule system, and Hispana has received orders for a mission there. The surviving record does not establish that settlement has been completed. For dated entries, see the imperial timeline.
Speculatores
The Speculatores are Roman special forces based on Mars. They undertake intelligence, assassination and disruption missions throughout Roman territory, specializing in information about pirates and rebels.
Technology
Via Imperii Jump Gate
The Via Imperii is the fixed jump-gate network that links the Empire's star systems. Its route architecture, control chambers, inspections, authorisations, tolls, and role in expansion are recorded in the Via Imperii article.
FENNEL Engine
The FENNEL engine is a classified rocket engine derived from the Codex and controlled by the Codex Administrative Council. Its origin, name, status, and distinction from the Via Imperii are recorded in the FENNEL engine article.
Spaceships
The classes and named vessels operated by the Empire are listed in the spaceship registry.
Orbital Installations
Planetary Gateways, shipyards, and observatories are listed in the orbital installations record.
Colonial Planets
The worlds under Roman administration and the relationship among settlement, aristocratic investment, collegia, labour, mining, and gateway logistics are recorded in the planetary index.
Collegium
Collegia occupy an extremely important position in the political and economic structure of the Roman Empire. They exist in countless forms across every industrial field. Most collegia operate under the patronage of Roman aristocrats, who provide political and financial support from behind the scenes. Through this backing, the collegia secure contracts, expand their enterprises, and generate profit. In return, these members offer political loyalty to their patrons and willingly pursue ventures that serve the patron's interests, maintaining a relationship of mutual benefit.
Among all collegia, the most profitable by far are those devoted to planetary exploration and resource extraction. Many Roman aristocrats fiercely compete to sponsor these expeditions, desperate to be the first to claim worlds rich in valuable materials. Although a patron cannot formally own a newly discovered planet, they gain the most advantageous rights to exploit its resources. Planetary exploration is extremely dangerous, yet the rewards for success are life-changing, which is why many impoverished free citizens volunteer for these missions in the hope of securing a better future.
Columbarium
A columbarium is a collective burial space operated by a funerary collegium. Members of the collegium shared the costs of construction and maintenance, and the facility was primarily used by freedmen, commoners, and lower-class citizens. It emerged as a response to rapid population growth and the financial burden of traditional burials, offering an economical alternative for those who could not afford private graves or large family tombs. Because of this function, many columbaria were built and managed collectively by specific families or collegia.
For collegia engaged in deep-space exploration, the situation is even more complex. Long-distance missions often involve a high risk of disappearance, meaning that some members pay into the columbarium system yet never return to make use of it, dying or vanishing during expeditions.
Members of the collegium regularly visit the columbarium to honor their deceased colleagues. These gatherings serve as communal rites through which the group collectively mourns the dead and reinforces its internal bonds.
Schola Prospectorum
The Schola Prospectorum is one of the largest deep-space exploration collegia in Rome. Many Roman aristocrats sponsor the organization in hopes of discovering resource-rich planets suitable for high-quality mining operations. Outwardly, these aristocrats appear to cooperate by supporting the same collegium and presenting a unified front against rival organizations. In reality, they also compete among themselves to secure influence and profit.
Deep-space exploration collegia such as the Schola Prospectorum often include freedmen as members, but Roman nobles frequently free selected slaves and enroll them in the collegium for their own economic benefit. In these cases, nobles carefully choose slaves with strong physical and mental health before granting manumission.
These collegia travel aboard planetary survey vessels and use the jump-gate network to reach the gate closest to their target. After passing through the final gate, they continue on their survey ships for several months and compete with teams from other collegia for planetary mining rights. Survey vessels are stocked in advance with knives, blunt weapons, and similar tools. Upon landing, if another collegium’s team occupies the desired location, violent confrontations occur. Many explorers are injured, and in severe cases they disappear or are killed. The frequency of these incidents makes such losses feel almost routine.
Although successful missions bring substantial rewards from the collegium, the chances of success are low due to constant territorial competition. Even those who survive and return rarely talk about what happened, since keeping silent is often safer for their own protection.
Schola Traiani
The headquarters of this collegium, where Rome's shipbuilders gather and operate, is an institution that possesses the core capabilities to construct all vessels that navigate space. Here, the shipbuilders discuss major decisions related to shipbuilding and determine the direction of the Empire's space shipbuilding technology. Inside the headquarters, there is an elaborately decorated banquet hall, which serves as a center for social activities where members regularly gather to dine and build camaraderie. The headquarters also functions as an important educational institution that professionally trains ship manufacturing techniques.
All technical knowledge handled by the collegium is classified, and unauthorized disclosure results in severe punishment from Roman authorities. The most skilled technicians among the members work at the Navalia shipyards in Mars orbit, where they are tasked with designing special purpose vessels for the Empire in exchange for enormous compensation. These shipbuilders maintain close relationships with aristocratic factions that sponsor Codex interpreters, placing them in a position directly connected to the Empire's advanced technological systems.
At the center of the headquarters stands a statue of Emperor Trajan, and members hold regular worship ceremonies here dedicated to various Roman gods and the Emperor. Becoming a member guarantees tremendous rewards and a stable life, but because most of the information handled is classified, outsiders cannot easily access or join. This profession is considered a highly important specialized field in Roman society, and recruitment of new members is known to attract extremely high competition.
Schola Medicorum
The Schola Medicorum is a collegium in which Roman physicians are mandatorily required to participate, serving as the central backbone of the Roman medical system. Most of its members are physicians of Greek origin who receive sponsorship from wealthy Roman aristocratic families. Many aristocrats pay substantial fees to the Schola Medicorum to fund these individuals through years of rigorous medical education. These Greek physicians are frequently of slave or freedman status.
A smaller proportion of non-Greeks also belong to the collegium; these individuals typically serve on colonial planets after completing their medical training. This is due to the intense demand for Greek physicians, who are almost exclusively stationed on Terra, particularly within the city of Rome itself.
Consequently, the collegium's influence is significantly weaker on colonial planets. Especially in harsher or less developed colonies, the number of available physicians is severely limited, leaving many colonial settlements vulnerable to various medical challenges.
Vestal Virgin
The Vestal Virgins play one of the most essential roles in Roman society, and in a Rome that has achieved interstellar civilization, their role is even more critical. They are chosen at a young age by the Pontifex Maximus of Vesta and dedicate themselves to maintaining the stability of Roman society for thirty years as Vestal Virgins. During this period, personal contact with their families is officially forbidden. They spend the first ten years receiving education, the next ten years actively performing their duties as priestesses, and the final ten years dedicated to training their successors. After their thirty years of service, they are free to engage in social activities, including marriage.
Their obedience to the goddess Vesta is absolute, though they are sometimes influenced by their networks with Roman aristocrats. Their daily lives are largely classified, and ordinary Romans cannot know their identities or whereabouts in detail. When traveling, they are accompanied by a dedicated escort, and though the escort is not large, it is clear from their movement that they are not of ordinary status.
One of their most fundamental duties is to travel through all star systems under Roman control and visit the planets where temples of Vesta have been established, inspecting whether the sacred fires continue to burn. Roman society considers the extinguishing of Vesta's flame, even in a single location, to be the most significant omen of misfortune that could befall Rome. As the Vestal Virgins travel through multiple star systems, they frequently meet with influential aristocrats in each region to assess the stability of local society. Additionally, when a new colonial planet is being developed, the Vestal Virgins accompany the advance party to the colony and are responsible for establishing the sacred flame of Vesta.
Culture
Parentalia
Parentalia is the most important festival in Roman society, lasting nine days from February 13th to 21st each year, during which Romans honor their ancestors. During this period, nearly all social activities within Rome cease, and Romans spend time with their families to commemorate their ancestors. They visit as family units the remains of their ancestors interred in columbaria or the communal cemeteries located on the outskirts of cities to perform memorial rites. Romans maintain an emotional connection with their ancestors by offering simple foods to them.
The final day, the 21st, is called Feralia, when public rituals are held to appease the spirits of the dead. Once this nine-day period of remembrance concludes, on the following day, the 22nd, families hold a banquet called Caristia, where all family members gather to exchange well-wishes and bring the festival to a close.
Boundary stone
Roman boundary stones mark property and political limits and receive rites dedicated to Terminus, the god of boundaries. The state-managed stone enshrined at the Terminus Gateway was made from fragments of Baetulus found near Alexandria. Its material, ritual use, and location are recorded with Terminus and the Terminus Gateway.