G’ahnlo is the watery homeworld of the G’ahnli race, and a major merchant center in the galactic economy.
History
Settled in 2120 AD by a G’ahnli by the name of Gorloba and his thirty-six female partners as a response to the Nall invasion of Ydahr in 2119, G’ahnlo has since grown into an economic powerhouse in the Orion Arm.
Geography and Ecology
G’ahnlo is a large planet, which orbits the star Ahndar. Water covers 98% of the surface, giving rise to exceptionally powerful storms that follow fairly predictable patterns across the planet’s surface. Several are visible from orbit at any given time. The remaining 2% consists mainly of small island archipelagos. There is little animal life on the land surfaces, though a handful of vegetative species can be found there. The dominant life form are the aquatic G’ahnli themselves, living in their underwater cities, most concentrated at the bases of the sea mounts. Such sea mounts rise kilometers off the sea floor, and at times come very near to the ocean surface. The ocean of G’ahnlo teems with life, from aquatic vegetation to a multitude of different fish species, ranging in size from microscopic to hundreds of meters in length. The interplay between the various species of herbivores and predators has been the subject of several marine biology books. Sub-surface volcanic activity is rare, but not unheard of.
The largest city, with a permanent population of six million, and the nominal seat of government is Ulbahno Subcity, which replaced Ahndar Subcity after the latter was destroyed by gillgummer algae. Umbalil Subcity is the second-largest, supporting two and a half million.
G’ahnlo has no major mineral deposits or heavy metals. Its primary resource is the planet’s ocean and the variety of sea life available for harvesting.
Government
G’ahnlo’s planetary government barely deserves the term. The planet is in large part decentralized, each subcity conducting its own affairs as it sees fit, within the limits set forth by the G’ahnli Legal Code.
Three major entities exist for the purpose of planetary governance. Two, the Public Accountancy of G’ahnlo and the G’ahnli Mercantile Fleet, are discussed in separate articles. The remaining entity, the Commerce Council of G’ahnlo, is the primary policy body on the planet. The Commerce Council consists of representatives from G’ahnlo’s twenty-four most profitable direct producers of goods and services, determined at the end of each fiscal year. As G’ahnli domestic policy essentially boils down to economic policy, and G’ahnlo’s economy is almost entirely unregulated, the Council has very little direct power over G’ahnlo itself, although it is able to apply considerable economic pressure to any dissenting elements of the G’ahnli economy.
Foreign policy is the primary purpose of the Council. Though its decisions are not considered legally binding by ruling of the Public Accountancy, its ability to bankrupt or buy out those in opposition to its decisions ensures appropriate compliance. The Council, consisting as it does of businesses in competition with each other, relies heavily on the Public Accountancy to communicate, both domestically and internationally, its intentions and decisions.
The Commerce Council has no specific meeting schedule, and any of the twenty-four companies represented may convene a meeting. Its current designated meeting location is the Ulbahno Holding Corporation Tower in Ulbahno Subcity.
