• The Fawaol system was originally explored by scouts from the Darius Foundation, in
an attempt to find a planet which could be used as a base for genetic engineering research. The
first colony was established two years after discovery of the planet and a wide variety of
animal life was imported from all the oxygen atmosphere worlds of explored space. The Foundation intended to exploit the different forms and experiments were undertaken to cross
breed and genetically combine strains from entirely different evolutionary groups.
• The work was undertaken in strict secrecy, since the manipulations being conducted
were of highly dangerous and illegal nature. No-one is likely to know of the results of the
work, however, since the early experimental records and 'creations' were destroyed in a series
of raids by extreme eco-terrorists on the principal laboratories of the Foundation. Documents
related to the experiments had been leaked to concerned organisations, and their contents were
so horrifying to the general public that although one hundred and seventy four terrorists were
arrested by planetary authorities, all were acquitted on technicalities.
• The Empire sent armed forces to finish the work of the terrorists and the Darius
Foundation was destroyed forever. There remained the question of what to do with the
enormous range of animals left after the laboratories were dismantled. Quentin Cholmondley
presented a proposal to convert large tracts of the world, (renamed Tracy after the commander
of the Empire fleet) into game reserves and zoological gardens. The intention was to provide
micro-environments tailored to each group of species and establish the largest series of free
range habitats in space, where animals from all planets could be seen in conditions as close as
possible to the wild.
• After the success and popular acclaim for the ecological fighters the idea of confining
the creatures through artificial barriers was dismissed, and alternative methods of separating
the widely different animal species were sought. In addition to the use of geological features
and artificial earthworks, several biological methods are employed in the game parks of
Tracy. These range from the poisonous and repellant gemini worms of Ackandso to the
genetically enhanced tigers of Achenar, which are used to confine large herd animals to their
prescribed lands.
• Tracy has a twelve hour day and though the change of day length does not affect many
of the imported species, few purely nocturnal hunters manage to flourish and have to be
assisted by the zoo staff instead. The zoos are staffed on a permanent basis by teams of rangers
and scientists who perform all necessary culling in a controlled and systematic fashion. The
Empire retains a police force to deter poachers and game hunters and unlicensed killing of any
creature on the world is illegal and carries stiff penalties and fines.
Entry by David Massey
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