STØVER appears to be just a cratered wasteland covered with grayish dust.  A brave adventurer made one of the most startling discoveries in galactic history, however, when she found out that this dust is edible!  It is, in fact, delicious and a good source of all the nutrients needed for human life.  The first Queen Helle's fortuitous claim resulted in her family becoming extremely wealthy, but she had a foresighted concern for future generations.  She partnered with a genius developer of artificial intelligence who would in due time become Prince Consort Søren.  Together they built a conscience into the very structure of their palace's shining domes.  Royal succession is dependent upon the approval of this AI, which has thus far not yet rejected any candidate from House Virkner.  Nor has any other brave adventurer made his fortune by bravely tasting another dusty planet.

ASANTHUS is another ruined world, but unlike Idmon, the entire history of Asanthus is still available for study.  Two minerals native to the planet have the unique property that the scratch marks easily made by one upon the other are extremely resistant to weathering or accidental removal.  So, archival-quality documents exist from the earliest days of human life on Asanthus, engraved on sheets of these minerals.  They tell the story of a bountiful new colony that quickly grew to occupy many cities, each with an official hall of records.  Micro-engraving permits extensive records that take up relatively little space, though some are "illuminated" with detailed borders and illustrations.  The tragic development that led to the downfall is likewise recorded, though initially as light-hearted mentions of a ridiculous new fad.  The freak discovery of a novel propulsion technology led to the immediate popularity of so-called "Super-Boots".  After a few months of teenagers flying low over every rural acre, the novelty was already starting to fade when farmers discovered that this year's crops were simply dead in the ground.  To this day nothing grows almost everywhere on Asanthus, and its cities are now almost entirely empty.

IDMON must once have been home to a thriving human civilization, as evidenced by its monumental edifices that are found on almost every continent.  What remains is a chaotic assortment of warring tribes, struggling to live amid the ruins built by their ancestors.  The cause of their societal collapse is disputed, with each group blaming a different instigator of the calamity.  Most say it was a war, but some claim that the war didn't start until things had fallen apart for some other reason.  Whatever the cause, all agree that in earlier times, long before living memory, every possible need was answered by mystical forces.  Fresh clean water and food, of course, but also warmth and cooling, lighting and cleaning, along with the answers to any imaginable question about the entire universe.  Perhaps the energies which were tapped to provide these wonders became uncontrolled and wild.  A popular myth tells of one who dared to touch a source of those energies, and who was instantly vaporized in a flash of light.

QUAST exists, according to its charter, to further "Truth, Justice, and the Quastic Way".  The truth, of course, is considerably more complex.  The planet is essentially an iceball, orbiting a lonely brown dwarf star.  What led the Quast Corporation to establish operations here?  Every year they bring a few new employees here across light years of empty space, and those employees regularly send home deposits to financial institutions on their original home planets.  But what do those employees do there?  The answer to that question is shrouded in darkness.  No one ever leaves Quast itself, except for the Corporation employees devoted to transportation, and they are not permitted to see any details of local operations.  Unsubstantiated rumors suggest that justice on Quast consists of only one punishment for any crime -- banishment to the freezing outer darkness.  Similarly unacknowledged is the supposition that "the Quastic Way" is something like "Don't talk about the Quastic Way".

HORELLI is a populous and highly urbanized planet that is ruled by an extensive religious hierarchy.  All Horellians are expected to serve Lapua faithfully by tithing up the chain and also performing public service one day in ten.  This system has worked adequately for centuries, and the stable government of Horelli has thus continued uninterrupted.  There does exist, however, an "Underground" which according to the official media consists of "saboteurs, spies, and thieves".  Alleged members of this Underground are frequently spotted in dark alleys between Horelli's many tall buildings.  Their crimes of sabotage seem to be limited to symbolic grafitti, though:  a star-shaped logo painted in inconspicuous locations.  Nor is anything of great value ever seen to be stolen by such thieves.  That leaves spying, which does fit the evidence very well.  The obvious comfort in which these Underground members live is perhaps intended to entice malcontents to join them, but they are widely assumed to be an entrapment operation by the upper echelons of the Lapua sect.

WÜRTTEMBERG consists of 63 independent realms, each centered on one of the large oases dotting this otherwise arid planet.  Seven seasons of the year are recognized:  Blume, Wiese, Heiß, Obst, Nebel, Regen, and Sturm.  At the beginning of each season, nine families from each realm must pack their belongings and migrate to one of the neighboring realms.  This choreographed movement follows a Grand Tour pattern that eventually leads back to any given origin, but because different families are chosen each season it would take many lifetimes to return to an ancestral home.  In contrast to this deliberate mixing of the population, Württembergers have very strict laws against most genetic mutations.  Those found to possess proscribed genes must submit to either sterilization or imprisonment.

LINZER historically developed within sealed domes of the type common to marginally-habitable planets.  The hereditary oligarchy that owns all of the domes brought with them a population of indentured servants who were promised newly-constructed domes of their own in return for a lengthy period of labor.  So new domes are constantly being constructed, and no one ever declines the opportunity to move into a new one.  The older domes, in addition to being overpopulated, are also intentionally polluted by the oligarchs, who pump in waste products and genetically-engineered vermin on a regular basis.  They do this as part of "experiments" to find out how people deal with such inconveniences, and perhaps to eventually develop a society that is immune to them.  Such is the depth of their commitment to future generations that they are willing to supervise such experiments for as long as is necessary.

BOLE is so radioactive that every object native to the planet visibly glows.  The beautiful glow of Bole was seen as a sign of divine providence to its first settlers, a theocratic society known as the Hakuraku, who see themselves as wise judges of merit.  Native to the planet are the Tianma, a species of winged equines that greatly esteemed by the Hakuraku as heavenly emissaries.  Lest they be overwhelmed by the "holy radiation" of their home, each Bolean must wear an expensive piece of jewelry called a "wudi".  The wudi's circuitry, itself powered by radioactivity, manages to repel Bole's natural radiation in such a way that the wearer is instead surrounded by darkness.  It is only removed for special ceremonies when the pure light of Bole is fully embraced.

LEVIATHAN was the first mid-galaxy world to be colonized, although its storm-wracked surface seems extremely uninviting when viewed from orbit.  From its very beginnings, though, it has been characterized by stormy social interaction as well.  On Leviathan everyone is an author, and everyone is also an editor, a publisher, and a critic.  Automated equipment supplies every primary need, while the citizens in their protective domes work on writing their next treatises.  The society is an actual direct democracy, with frequent votes on matters both weighty and mundane.  Naturally much of the published material has to do with arguments over these proposed laws, which can be surprisingly specific.  If someone has a grievance against a neighbor, it is not uncommon for a vote to be called which will censure or otherwise punish that person.

URAKAZE was founded by Filéans who couldn't accept the royal decrees against heretical mathematics.  It all might have gone swimmingly if not for the fact that each of them supports a different incompatible axiom.  They have also undertaken an emphasis on mass communication unprecedented in Filéan history.  Tremendous mechanical oscillators broadcast each of the thousands of one-true-algebras, all day and every day.  This auditory pollution is accompanied by physical pollution of the surrounding waters.  Lubricant leaks and industrial waste swirl together in the currents, forming chaotic patterns to inspire the next generation.