For the longest time, the planet Kuat was just a name- the location of the famous 'Kuat Drive Yards'- producer of massive warships. I'm not sure exactly when the planet/system was first detailed- though the first I remember was in the late 90s, in one of the D6 RPG system books titled 'Platt's Starport Guide'.
In this sourcebook, Kuat is depicted as a 'restricted' kind of system, where most space traffic doesn't actually go the planet. Rather, traffic is directed to one of three massive space-station complexes at the edge of the system. Later depictions of the planet (in the d20 system, as I recall), don't reflect this. Rather, Kuat is shown as having an artificial 'ring' around it. These, I imagine, are the legendary 'Kuat Drive Yards'- though I don't recall anything actually designating them as such.
I actually love the idea of Kuat having a massive ring of stations orbiting it. I can see this as something that could have evolved over time- with various space-stations and tethered 'skyhooks' being established in equatorial orbit. Gradually, more and more would have been constructed and interconnected until they formed a ring surrounding the entire planet.
I could also see this as being a 'wonder of the galaxy', when you consider just how HUGE that ring would be in terms of area. Okay, so it wouldn't be a 'Dyson sphere' or anything, but it would be damn impressive.
No comments:
Post a Comment