+++Worlds of the Galaxy+++

The initial human colonisation of the galaxy lies in the distant past, separated from the present by twenty thousand years of regression and rebuilding. Human worlds are' scattered throughout the galaxy but their distribution is not even. The greatest density of human worlds is in the galactic west, close to Earth. In the galactic east, in the area known as the Eastern Fringe, human worlds are few and often far apart.

Many human worlds benefit from mutual contact and a comparable level of technology. Others have become primitive and barbarous, often as a result of periods of isolation. New human worlds are being discovered all the time, and there remains an unknown number which have been isolated and forgotten for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.

 THE IMPERIUM

Stellar empires cannot really be reckoned in terms of the spatial areas they occupy, but only in terms of the star systems under their control. The Imperium is the largest such empire in the galaxy. The million or more worlds that lie under its dominion are spread throughout the entire galaxy with the exception of the Eastern Fringe. It extends to the limits of the Astronomican, the beacon which its fleets rely on for -navigation. Of course the Imperium does not control all of the star systems within this vast area, nor even the majority of the inhabited systems within its borders. The, galaxy also contains many alien races ruling smaller empires of their own.

The Imperium is ruled from Old Earth. It is governed by a vast bureaucracy known as the Adeptus Terra sometimes referred to simply as The Priesthood. The Adeptus Terra governs the Imperium in the name of the Emperor of Humanity, the Undying Master of Mankind.

Most of the information about spaceships and space travel in this article refers to the fleets of the Imperium. For more information on the vast, complex and fascinating Empire of Man, see the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook.

THE EASTERN FRINGE

The Eastern Fringe lies beyond the Astronomican and so beyond the easy reach of Imperial forces. It is known to contain human planets settled in ancient times as well as many alien worlds. Some of these planets have populations which are feral or barbarous but many shelter highly advanced cultures. Most worlds are self-governing or belong to small independent human or alien empires. Agents of the Imperium are continually exploring the Eastern Fringe, spying out dangers, recruiting allies, and fighting wars beyond the borders of the Imperium itself.

THE EYE OF TERROR

The Eye of Terror lies on the edge of the galaxy to the north-west of Earth. It can be plainly seen as a swirl of stars swirling very much like an eye. The Eye of Terror is also the centre of a huge and dangerous warpstorm. It is in fact one of file few places in the galaxy where real space and the warp actually overlap. Following the wars known as the Horus Heresy which were fought at the dawn of Imperial history, rebel forces allied to Warmaster Horus fled into the Eye of Terror after their defeat at the hands of the Emperor and loyal human troops. Their descendants still rule the Eye of Terror. Their prolonged contact with the warp and its inhabitants has changed them utterly: they are no longer human nor wholly sane. They remain amongst the most deadly enemies of the Imperium and humanity.

WILDERNESS SPACE

Most of the stars in the galaxy remain unexplored. Whole areas of the galaxy are embroiled within warpstorms and are therefore inaccessible from other areas. Other stars are simply remote and await mapping and codification by the Imperial exploration teams. These largely unknown zones are known as wilderness space or wilderness zones. As warpstorms abate, old wilderness areas are explored, uncovering ancient human settlements as well as alien races and empires. Wilderness zones are spread throughout the galaxy.

ALIEN WORLDS

ORKS

The Orks are the degenerate descendants of a once-sophisticated spacefaring race. They are brutal and warlike, but retain some of the technological knowledge invented by their forebears. Orks are naturally anarchic and aggressive, fighting constantly amongst themselves as well as against other races. Ork worlds are spread throughout the galaxy in a similar way to those of humans, testifying to a past age of superior technical knowledge.

Ork Warlords represent a constant and dangerous threat to humanity. Individually they control only a few ships, but there are so many of these petty tyrants that the Imperium is in constant danger from their raids. Their craft are crudely designed and constructed but effective for all that and easily a match for Imperial ships of a similar size..

ELDAR

The Eldar are an ancient race that live on giant spacecraft called Craftworlds. These Craftworlds drift through space at sublight speeds. The Eldar travel through space by means of an intricate system of warpgates and tunnels, closed routes through warpspace leading from a Craftworld to either a point in space or a planet. Some gates are quite small and allow an Eldar to literally walk from his Craftworld to another part of the galaxy. Other gates are large, and every Craftworld has at least one warpgate that is large enough to enable spacecraft to enter. It is by this means that Eldar ships travel between the stars - they have no warp drives in the human sense.

TYRANIDS

The Tyranid hive mind is an alien entity, a great creature that is formed from countless billions of creatures, a mind that is many linked minds. The Tyranids have travelled to the Imperium in a hive fleet from an unimaginably distant galaxy. The hive fleet is a great dark swarm of many millions of individual spacecraft, each a gigantic living thing, a creature fashioned from organic tissue by means of sophisticated genetic manipulation of which the Tyranids are masters.

The Tyranid Hive Mind hungers for fresh gene-stocks that can be used to create new bio-construct creatures and organic machines. Their own galaxy is exhausted, its creatures long since absorbed into the Hive Mind, their flesh turned to machine like purposes or discarded as useless. The Imperium, with its countless billions of humans and other creatures, offers the Tyranids an almost inexhaustible supply of flesh and genes which will invigorate the hive mind and enable it to embody itself in new forms.

The hive fleet has reached the outer part of the Imperium and the entire south-eastern spiral arm of the galaxy now lies under its dominion. A thousand human worlds have already fallen to the invader, their populations consumed or enslaved by the Tyranids.

Now the Imperium prepares for war. The weapon shops of Mars turn out ever-more potent machines of death, new spaceships sail from the shipyards of Necromunda, Space Marine chapters muster their fleets and begin the long battle to counter the hive fleet, the vast resources of the Imperial Guard gradually swing into action as millions of men prepare to embark on a war for humanity's very survival.

INTERPLANETARY TRAVEL

Hereditary rulers called Imperial Commanders govern the worlds of the Imperium. The Imperial Commander holds his planet on behalf of the Emperor. In return for his oath of loyalty and regular planetary tithes, he controls the planet as if it were his own. The Imperial Commander is free to administrate and defend his planet as he sees fit. Most worlds maintain fleets of interplanetary spacecraft - ships built to operate within their home system and lacking the warp engines needed for travel between stars.

Interplanetary ships are common on all technically advanced worlds. Even on medieval and feral worlds the planet's governor and his associated staff and warriors would have access to such spacecraft - the general population would remain either ignorant of or completely in awe of spacecraft and technology.

The Imperial Commander of each system administers interplanetary shipping. Some Imperial Commanders keep a tight leash on all space travel, others are far more lax and allow independent bodies to organise and maintain spacefleets to serve the system. Similarly, while some Imperial Commanders police their systems very thoroughly, others find it impossible or impractical to enforce controls on independent operatives. Some Imperial Commanders undoubtedly collude with anarchic and piratical organisations, trading off the control of planets or asteroids, mining or transport rights, or even defence and policing concessions, in return for personal profit. These Imperial Commanders may maintain that this is the only way they can control their worlds.