Noon Universe
Encyclopedia
The Noon Universe is a fictional future setting for a number of hard
science fiction
novels written by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky
. The universe is named after Noon: 22nd Century
, the chronologically first novel from the series. While the Noon Universe shares many utopia
n qualities with the early Star Trek
universe (such as world peace and high standards of living), it has its share of problems and internal conflicts.
According to Arkady Strugatsky, at first, the brothers did not make a conscious effort to create a fictional universe. Rather, they reused characters and settings from prior works whenever they found it convenient. It wasn't until later that they began drawing on common themes and plot threads from various novels to create newer works.
and the advance of technological progress on the Earth
of the Noon Universe resulted in an over-abundance of resources and eliminated the need for most types of manual labor.
The most striking difference between Noon Universe and most of the other fictional sci-fi universes (most famous include Dune
, Star Wars
and Babylon 5
) is a complete denial of territory-based imperialism
, although the Wanderers might be seen as engaging in cultural imperialism
. This means that no sentient race in the Noon Universe builds an inter-planetary state (republic
, empire
etc.) or has ever built one. Instead, most of them keep to their own planets, and the only space-faring ones (humans
and, probably, Wanderers
) have chosen a selfless existence assisting in the scientific development of less advanced civilizations ("progressing" or "progressorizing") rather than building a galactic empire based on their technological advantage.
Mankind is capable of near-instanteneous interstellar travel. Earth social organization is presumably Communist, and can be described as a highly technologically advanced anarchistic meritocracy
. There is no state structure, no institutionalized coercion (no police etc.), yet functioning of the society is safeguarded by raising everyone as responsible individuals, with guidance of a set of High Councils accepted by everyone in each particular field of activity.
It is a society
of highly morally evolved individuals that has solved all of its material problems, knows no crime, feels no threats (except possibly from unchecked scientific exploration) and spends much of its efforts in scientific research (space exploration done mostly by volunteers), arts, education and caring for the young. Teachers are the most honorable profession.
One of the controversial occupations is progressor
. They are agents embedded in less advanced humanoid civilizations in order to accelerate their development or resolve their problems. Progressors' methods range from rescuing local scientists and artists to overthrowing local governments.
The main governing body is the World Council, composed of the brightest scientists, historians, doctors and teachers. The local matters are handled by the regional versions of the council. Planetary councils are present on each Earth colony (e.g. Rainbow
), as well, although "colony
" in this context refers to a planet that wasn't home to any sentient life before the arrival of Terran settlers. In the Noon Universe, Earth has never attempted to seize permanent control over any other civilization.
While the ethics-based society has managed to successfully provide for all human beings, some have difficulty finding their place, instead taking to space exploration, traveling to previously uncharted worlds. The practice is generally frowned upon, seen as diversion from creativity and self-realization.
The universe is populated by a number of sentient races. Some of them are humanoid
, while others are so alien that humanity didn't realize that they were sentient for decades. Several sentient races maintain diplomatic relations with Earth's government. Many planets in Noon Universe are inhabited by races identical to humans in all but minor genetic differences. It has been speculated that they were humans who wound up on other worlds due to the Wanderers' manipulations (as Beetle in the Anthill
shows, that is hardly unprecedented).
The Wanderers
are, without a doubt, the most mysterious race in the Noon Universe. Incredibly technologically advanced and highly secretive, the Wanderers manipulate sentient beings throughout Noon Universe for their own purposes. While those purposes were never clarified, it was hinted that they try to "progress" various sentient beings.
There are loose connections of early stories The Land of Crimson Clouds
("Страна багровых туч"), The Way to Amalthea
("Путь на Амальтею"), Space Apprentice
("Стажеры"), The Final Circle of Paradise
(through Ivan Zhilin), Ispytanie SKIBR, Chastnye predpolozheniya, mainly through Bykovs family.
In the early 1990s, the Strugatsky brothers began writing what they intended to be a final Noon Universe novel. It would have tied up some of the plot threads that were left unresolved in previous novels. However, following the death of Arkady Strugatsky, the surviving brother, Boris, felt that he could not bring himself to finish the novel. The book should have been named White Ferz . "Ferz" or "Vizier
" is the Russian term for a Queen
in chess
. Strugatsky brothers planned the book to be direct sequel of Prisoners of Power and follow the story of infiltration of the progressor
Maxim Kammerer
into the elite of the Island Empire.
In the late 1990s, a collection of fiction by notable Russian scifi writers, titled The Time of the Apprentices, was published in Russia (with an endorsement of Boris Strugatsky). The pieces in the collection build upon Strugatskys' ideas and works, and many of them are set in the Noon Universe. The same period saw the re-release of all Noon Universe novels as part of the Worlds of Strugasky Brothers series. This re-release is notable for introductory articles written by literary critics from the perspective of Noon Universe historians who were looking back on the events of the said novels several decades later.
For more information about people of the Noon Universe, see the list of minor personalities
.
Other possibly sentient species mentioned in the books are septoids (see Noon: 22nd Century
) whose sentience is not really confirmed, semi-sentient prehistoric molluscs katapumoridako (see The Time Wanderers
) and the unidentified sentient creature killed by Pol Gnedykh in the Kroox solar system (Noon: 22nd Century).
Hard science fiction
Hard science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by an emphasis on scientific or technical detail, or on scientific accuracy, or on both. The term was first used in print in 1957 by P. Schuyler Miller in a review of John W. Campbell, Jr.'s Islands of Space in Astounding Science...
science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novels written by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky
Arkady and Boris Strugatsky
The brothers Arkady and Boris Strugatsky are Soviet Jewish-Russian science fiction authors who collaborated on their fiction.-Life and work:...
. The universe is named after Noon: 22nd Century
Noon: 22nd Century
Noon: 22nd Century is a 1961 science fiction book by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, expanded in 1962 and further in 1967, translated into English in 1978. It is sometimes considered an episodic novel, collection of linked short stories or a fix-up as some parts had been published previously as...
, the chronologically first novel from the series. While the Noon Universe shares many utopia
Utopia
Utopia is an ideal community or society possessing a perfect socio-politico-legal system. The word was imported from Greek by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. The term has been used to describe both intentional communities that attempt...
n qualities with the early Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
universe (such as world peace and high standards of living), it has its share of problems and internal conflicts.
According to Arkady Strugatsky, at first, the brothers did not make a conscious effort to create a fictional universe. Rather, they reused characters and settings from prior works whenever they found it convenient. It wasn't until later that they began drawing on common themes and plot threads from various novels to create newer works.
Description
The victory of communismCommunism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
and the advance of technological progress on the Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
of the Noon Universe resulted in an over-abundance of resources and eliminated the need for most types of manual labor.
The most striking difference between Noon Universe and most of the other fictional sci-fi universes (most famous include Dune
Dune universe
Dune is a science fiction franchise which originated with the 1965 novel Dune by Frank Herbert. Considered by many to be the greatest science fiction novel of all time, Dune is frequently cited as the best-selling science fiction novel in history...
, Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
and Babylon 5
Babylon 5
Babylon 5 is an American science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on a space station named Babylon 5: a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and conflict during the years 2257–2262...
) is a complete denial of territory-based imperialism
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
, although the Wanderers might be seen as engaging in cultural imperialism
Cultural imperialism
Cultural imperialism is the domination of one culture over another. Cultural imperialism can take the form of a general attitude or an active, formal and deliberate policy, including military action. Economic or technological factors may also play a role...
. This means that no sentient race in the Noon Universe builds an inter-planetary state (republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
, empire
Empire
The term empire derives from the Latin imperium . Politically, an empire is a geographically extensive group of states and peoples united and ruled either by a monarch or an oligarchy....
etc.) or has ever built one. Instead, most of them keep to their own planets, and the only space-faring ones (humans
Humans (Noon Universe)
Humans of the Noon Universe created by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky are mostly identical to homo sapiens. Humans inhabit numerous planets, but their original homeworld is probably Earth, others being populated by humans, presumably, as a result of Wanderers' manipulations.-Human Planets:The...
and, probably, Wanderers
Wanderers (Noon Universe)
Wanderers are a fictional alien race from the Noon Universe created by Strugatsky brothers. Their homeworld is unknown. No official contact between Earth and Wanderers has ever been registered, although they've contacted humans from other planets, e.g...
) have chosen a selfless existence assisting in the scientific development of less advanced civilizations ("progressing" or "progressorizing") rather than building a galactic empire based on their technological advantage.
Mankind is capable of near-instanteneous interstellar travel. Earth social organization is presumably Communist, and can be described as a highly technologically advanced anarchistic meritocracy
Meritocracy
Meritocracy, in the first, most administrative sense, is a system of government or other administration wherein appointments and responsibilities are objectively assigned to individuals based upon their "merits", namely intelligence, credentials, and education, determined through evaluations or...
. There is no state structure, no institutionalized coercion (no police etc.), yet functioning of the society is safeguarded by raising everyone as responsible individuals, with guidance of a set of High Councils accepted by everyone in each particular field of activity.
It is a society
Society
A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...
of highly morally evolved individuals that has solved all of its material problems, knows no crime, feels no threats (except possibly from unchecked scientific exploration) and spends much of its efforts in scientific research (space exploration done mostly by volunteers), arts, education and caring for the young. Teachers are the most honorable profession.
One of the controversial occupations is progressor
Progressor
Progressors in science fiction are people of an advanced space-faring civilization who facilitate progress of less advanced civilizations. It comes from a perspective very much the opposite of what motivates Star Trek's famous Prime Directive....
. They are agents embedded in less advanced humanoid civilizations in order to accelerate their development or resolve their problems. Progressors' methods range from rescuing local scientists and artists to overthrowing local governments.
The main governing body is the World Council, composed of the brightest scientists, historians, doctors and teachers. The local matters are handled by the regional versions of the council. Planetary councils are present on each Earth colony (e.g. Rainbow
Rainbow (Noon Universe)
Rainbow is a fictional planet described in Far Rainbow by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. This planet is a part of the so called Noon Universe and presents a planetwide experimental laboratory used by null-physicists...
), as well, although "colony
Colony
In politics and history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a state. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies. Some colonies were historically countries, while others were territories without definite statehood from their inception....
" in this context refers to a planet that wasn't home to any sentient life before the arrival of Terran settlers. In the Noon Universe, Earth has never attempted to seize permanent control over any other civilization.
While the ethics-based society has managed to successfully provide for all human beings, some have difficulty finding their place, instead taking to space exploration, traveling to previously uncharted worlds. The practice is generally frowned upon, seen as diversion from creativity and self-realization.
The universe is populated by a number of sentient races. Some of them are humanoid
Humanoid
A humanoid is something that has an appearance resembling a human being. The term first appeared in 1912 to refer to fossils which were morphologically similar to, but not identical with, those of the human skeleton. Although this usage was common in the sciences for much of the 20th century, it...
, while others are so alien that humanity didn't realize that they were sentient for decades. Several sentient races maintain diplomatic relations with Earth's government. Many planets in Noon Universe are inhabited by races identical to humans in all but minor genetic differences. It has been speculated that they were humans who wound up on other worlds due to the Wanderers' manipulations (as Beetle in the Anthill
Beetle in the Anthill
Beetle in the Anthill is a 1979 sci-fi novel by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky set in the Noon Universe.-Explanation of the novel's title:Beetle in the Anthill is the title of a theory explaining the Stepchildren phenomenon...
shows, that is hardly unprecedented).
The Wanderers
Wanderers (Noon Universe)
Wanderers are a fictional alien race from the Noon Universe created by Strugatsky brothers. Their homeworld is unknown. No official contact between Earth and Wanderers has ever been registered, although they've contacted humans from other planets, e.g...
are, without a doubt, the most mysterious race in the Noon Universe. Incredibly technologically advanced and highly secretive, the Wanderers manipulate sentient beings throughout Noon Universe for their own purposes. While those purposes were never clarified, it was hinted that they try to "progress" various sentient beings.
Novels
These novels by the Strugatsky brothers are set in the Noon Universe (listed chronologically):- Noon: 22nd CenturyNoon: 22nd CenturyNoon: 22nd Century is a 1961 science fiction book by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, expanded in 1962 and further in 1967, translated into English in 1978. It is sometimes considered an episodic novel, collection of linked short stories or a fix-up as some parts had been published previously as...
(Полдень. XXII век) - Escape AttemptEscape AttemptEscape Attempt is a 1962 sci-fi novel by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky set in the Noon Universe...
(Попытка к бегству) - Far RainbowFar RainbowFar Rainbow is a 1963 science fiction novel by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky set in the Noon Universe.- Plot summary :The novel tells the story of the Rainbow catastrophe of 2156. It starts very simple, as a Wave observer Robert Sklyarov notices an unusually persistent Wave and reports it to the...
(Далекая Радуга) - Hard to Be a GodHard to Be a GodHard to be a God is a 1964 sci-fi novel by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky set in the Noon Universe.The novel follows Anton, an undercover operative from the future planet Earth, in his mission on an alien planet, that is populated by human beings, whose society has not advanced beyond the Middle Ages...
(Трудно быть богом) - Disquiet (Беспокойство) - the initial variant of the Snail on the Slope (Улитка на склоне)
- Prisoners of PowerPrisoners of PowerPrisoners of Power also known as Inhabited Island is a science fiction novel written by Soviet authors Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. It was written in 1969 and originally published in 1971, the English translation was released in 1977...
(Обитаемый остров) - Space MowgliSpace MowgliSpace Mowgli also known as The Kid is a 1971 sci-fi novel by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky set in the Noon Universe.- Plot summary :...
(Малыш) - The Kid from HellThe Kid from HellThe Kid from Hell is a 1974 sci-fi novel by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky set in the Noon Universe. The English translation was included in a single volume entitled Escape Attempt with the other Noon universe stories Escape Attempt and Space Mowgli.-Plot summary:The novel tells the story of Gack, a...
(Парень из преисподней) - Beetle in the AnthillBeetle in the AnthillBeetle in the Anthill is a 1979 sci-fi novel by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky set in the Noon Universe.-Explanation of the novel's title:Beetle in the Anthill is the title of a theory explaining the Stepchildren phenomenon...
(Жук в муравейнике) - The Time WanderersThe Time WanderersThe Time Wanderers is a 1985 science fiction novel by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky, set in the Noon Universe...
(Волны гасят ветер)
There are loose connections of early stories The Land of Crimson Clouds
The Land of Crimson Clouds
The Land of Crimson Clouds is a 1959 science fiction novel by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky, most likely, set in the Noon Universe.-Plot summary:...
("Страна багровых туч"), The Way to Amalthea
The Way to Amalthea
The Way to Amalthea also known as Destination: Amaltheia is an early science fiction short story by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky written in 1959...
("Путь на Амальтею"), Space Apprentice
Space Apprentice
Space Apprentice, also known as Probationers , is one of the early novels of Russian science fiction writers Arkady and Boris Strugatsky...
("Стажеры"), The Final Circle of Paradise
The Final Circle of Paradise
The Final Circle of Paradise is a science fiction novel by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky set in the first half of the 21st century. It was first published in the USSR in 1965 and the first English edition, translated by Leonid Renen, was published by DAW books in 1976...
(through Ivan Zhilin), Ispytanie SKIBR, Chastnye predpolozheniya, mainly through Bykovs family.
In the early 1990s, the Strugatsky brothers began writing what they intended to be a final Noon Universe novel. It would have tied up some of the plot threads that were left unresolved in previous novels. However, following the death of Arkady Strugatsky, the surviving brother, Boris, felt that he could not bring himself to finish the novel. The book should have been named White Ferz . "Ferz" or "Vizier
Vizier
A vizier or in Arabic script ; ; sometimes spelled vazir, vizir, vasir, wazir, vesir, or vezir) is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in a Muslim government....
" is the Russian term for a Queen
Queen (chess)
The queen is the most powerful piece in the game of chess, able to move any number of squares vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. Each player starts the game with one queen, placed in the middle of the first rank next to the king. With the chessboard oriented correctly, the white queen starts...
in chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
. Strugatsky brothers planned the book to be direct sequel of Prisoners of Power and follow the story of infiltration of the progressor
Progressor
Progressors in science fiction are people of an advanced space-faring civilization who facilitate progress of less advanced civilizations. It comes from a perspective very much the opposite of what motivates Star Trek's famous Prime Directive....
Maxim Kammerer
Maxim Kammerer
Maxim Kammerer is a fictional character in Arkady and Boris Strugatsky's series of science fiction novels set in the Noon Universe....
into the elite of the Island Empire.
In the late 1990s, a collection of fiction by notable Russian scifi writers, titled The Time of the Apprentices, was published in Russia (with an endorsement of Boris Strugatsky). The pieces in the collection build upon Strugatskys' ideas and works, and many of them are set in the Noon Universe. The same period saw the re-release of all Noon Universe novels as part of the Worlds of Strugasky Brothers series. This re-release is notable for introductory articles written by literary critics from the perspective of Noon Universe historians who were looking back on the events of the said novels several decades later.
Personalities
- Lev AbalkinLev AbalkinLev Abalkin is a fictional character in Boris and Arkady Strugatsky's series of science fiction novels set in the Noon Universe.-Biography:Lev Abalkin was born on 6. October 2138 on Earth...
(Абалкин, Лев) - Leonid GorbovskyLeonid GorbovskyLeonid Gorbovsky is a fictional character in Boris and Arkady Strugatsky's series of science fiction novels set in the Noon Universe.-Biography:...
(Горбовcкий, Леонид) - Maxim KammererMaxim KammererMaxim Kammerer is a fictional character in Arkady and Boris Strugatsky's series of science fiction novels set in the Noon Universe....
(Каммерер, Максим) - Gennady KomovGennady KomovGennady Komov is a fictional character in Boris and Arkady Strugatsky's series of science fiction novels set in the Noon Universe.-Biography:...
(Комов, Геннадий) - Rudolf SikorskiRudolf SikorskiRudolf Sikorski is a fictional character in Boris and Arkady Strugatsky's series of science fiction novels set in the Noon Universe, also known as Exzellenz or Wanderer. Sikorski appears in Prisoners of Power and Beetle in the Anthill...
(Сикорски, Рудольф)
For more information about people of the Noon Universe, see the list of minor personalities
Minor personalities of the Noon Universe
The Noon Universe novels by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky featured a number of characters who were not of vital importance to the XXII century, like Leonid Gorbovsky or Maxim Kammerer.- Bader, August-Iogann-Maria :...
.
Planets
- ArkArk (Noon Universe)Ark is a fictional planet described in Space Mowgli by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. This planet is a part of the so called Noon Universe and presents a barren world very similar to Earth in all aspects except the biosphere...
(Ковчег) - ArkanarArkanarArkanar is the capital of Arkanar Kingdom on a fictional unnamed planet described in "Hard to Be a God" by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky. This planet is a part of the so called Noon Universe and presents a world in a late feudalistic/Renaissance stage...
(Арканар) - EarthEarth (Noon Universe)In the Noon Universe created by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky Earth is one of the planets populated by humans as well as their assumed origin. It is identical to the modern Earth except for the fact that it is set in the 22nd century...
(Земля) - Garrota (Гаррота)
- Giganda (Гиганда)
- Hope (Надежда)
- Leonida (Леонида)
- Pandora (Пандора)
- Pant (Панта)
- RainbowRainbow (Noon Universe)Rainbow is a fictional planet described in Far Rainbow by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. This planet is a part of the so called Noon Universe and presents a planetwide experimental laboratory used by null-physicists...
(Радуга) - Ruzhena (Ружена)
- SarakshSarakshSaraksh is a fictional planet described in Prisoners of Power by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. This planet is a part of the so called Noon Universe and presents a world that survived an atomic war. As a result, the surface of the planet is mostly covered with debris and junk...
(Саракш) - SaulaSaulaSaula is the second planet of EN-7031 solar system, about one and a half times further from its sun than Earth is from ours. The day and night cycle on Saula lasts 28 hours, its mass is about 1.1 of Earth, which means that acceleration of gravity is roughly equal to 10.8 m/s². It has three moons...
(Саула) - Tagora (Тагора)
- Tissa (Тисса)
- Vladislava (Владислава)
- Yaila (Яйла)
Races
- Ark MegaformsArk MegaformsArk Megaforms are a fictional alien race from the Noon Universe created by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky. Their homeworld is Ark , a planet officially discovered 2160 AD in the course of "Ark Project"....
(негуманоиды Ковчега) - Garrotian Snails (слизни Гарроты)
- Golovans (Голованы)
- HumansHumans (Noon Universe)Humans of the Noon Universe created by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky are mostly identical to homo sapiens. Humans inhabit numerous planets, but their original homeworld is probably Earth, others being populated by humans, presumably, as a result of Wanderers' manipulations.-Human Planets:The...
(люди)- Ludens (людены)
- LeonidersLeonidersLeoniders are a fictional alien race from the Noon Universe created by the Strugatsky brothers. Their homeworld is Leonida , a planet discovered in 2133 AD by Leonid Gorbovsky....
(леонидяне) - TagoriansTagoriansTagorians or Tagoryans are a fictional, lizard-like alien race from the Noon Universe created by Strugatsky brothers. Their homeworld is Tagora , a planet discovered by the end of the 21st century...
(тагоряне) - WanderersWanderers (Noon Universe)Wanderers are a fictional alien race from the Noon Universe created by Strugatsky brothers. Their homeworld is unknown. No official contact between Earth and Wanderers has ever been registered, although they've contacted humans from other planets, e.g...
(Странники)
Other possibly sentient species mentioned in the books are septoids (see Noon: 22nd Century
Noon: 22nd Century
Noon: 22nd Century is a 1961 science fiction book by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, expanded in 1962 and further in 1967, translated into English in 1978. It is sometimes considered an episodic novel, collection of linked short stories or a fix-up as some parts had been published previously as...
) whose sentience is not really confirmed, semi-sentient prehistoric molluscs katapumoridako (see The Time Wanderers
The Time Wanderers
The Time Wanderers is a 1985 science fiction novel by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky, set in the Noon Universe...
) and the unidentified sentient creature killed by Pol Gnedykh in the Kroox solar system (Noon: 22nd Century).