Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh, affectionately known among UNSC personnel as Gil or Gilly, is a highly-populated Inner Colony, renowned among human space for its status as a tax haven and pleasure world. Gilgamesh is regarded as part of the "Corporate Bloc", consisting also of the nearby Inner Colonies of Andesia and Crystal. These worlds were marked by high degrees of development, economic independence and corporate power. Andesia was traditionally regarded as the most powerful of the trio, with Gilgamesh only coming third. However, following the Human-Covenant War, Gilgamesh surpassed Andesia in wealth after the latter became mired in internal unrest.

Human-Covenant War
While Gilgamesh had problems with white-collar crime and corruption in the decades prior to the Covenant War, they have been inflamed by the war and the effective dissolution of the Colonial Administration Authority's oversight. Left to its own devices, Gilgamesh's democratically-elected government lost any semblance of legitimate authority they may have had over the illicit corporate sector. With the UEG and the UNSC's attention turned to the Covenant threat, Gilgamesh's illegal businesses gradually expanded from tax evasion and miscellaneous white-collar crime to accommodating illegal cybernetics and biotechnology research by off-system actors, including many Solar or Inner Colony corporations.

At the same time, refugees from colonies further out in the Orion-Eridanus Supersector flowed in at a steady pace; though Gilgamesh was not as popular a destination as the worlds of Epsilon Eridani or Sol, the UNSC sought to redirect refugee streams to lesser worlds such as Gilgamesh to relieve the immense pressure already building up on major worlds such as Earth, Reach and Tribute. This led to various secondary issues as Gilgamesh' local institutions were not exactly welcoming to the newcomers, forcing many of them to live in informal settlements around the major cities. Numerous social issues emerged or were exacerbated, and street-level crime blossomed as criminal syndicates recruited from the ranks of the desperate refugees. This worsened following the glassing of the nearby Crystal, once notorious for its rampant organized crime. The surviving crime syndicates from Crystal made their new home on Gilgamesh, virtually institutionalizing mob rule in large parts of the less policed regions of the planet. Many resort-cities erected walls around themselves to prevent refugees from entering. In the large slums and tent-cities established by refugees, criminal elements were free to reign unchecked, though corporate security would occasionally conduct bloody raids on real or suspected criminal hideouts, often as retribution for causing disturbance in the cities or tourist centers. Unfortunately, this had the very effect the security forces were attempting to curtail: as the near-constant state of war between corporate security and the gangs became more widely known in the post-war era, Gilgamesh's tourism business experienced a steady decline even as cities and local companies launched aggressive marketing campaigns trying to assure tourists that the planet remained a safe and attractive destination.

Post-Covenant War
After the Human-Covenant War, the UNSC recontacted the surviving colonies in an effort to re-consolidate the Human Sphere under the Phoenix Initiative, an interim body created to facilitate the reconstruction process. Seeing it had little to gain and much of its blossoming illegal sector to lose, Gilgamesh declined, formally becoming an independent world in 2555 despite already having been functionally autonomous for nearly thirty years. Rather than attempt to reassert their authority by force, as may have been the case in an earlier period of history, the UNSC and the Phoenix Initiative let the planet go without much of a fight. This was emblematic of the precarious situation of the Years of Disquiet. First and foremost, the UNSC and the Phoenix Initiative sought to exert control over worlds that had something to offer, such as agricultural produce, heavy industry, natural resources, and strategic or commercial hotspots. Most of what Gilgamesh has to offer were drugs, debauchery, duty-free shopping and the occasional illegal technology in the black market. The planet had seen an influx of immigration during the war, but the local government was so corrupt and ineffectual that it was deemed easier and more humane for the Phoenix Initiative to direct refugees to other colonies (including all-new ones) than try to invest in repairing the Gilgameshi system in such an uncertain time; not only that, not all of Gilgamesh's surface was even habitable. The Anu system is unremarkable in terms of resources, and despite its proximity to Reach, it has no known strategically valuable slipspace jump points to colonies beyond. The system might act as a waystation for future recolonization efforts at Crystal or star systems beyond, but for the immediate decades, resettlement was focused elsewhere.

It was reasoned that once the Phoenix Initiative was developed enough, they would reassess Gilgamesh's standing, but for the immediate decades, they had more important matters to focus on. Indeed, as it became more established, the Phoenix Initiative launched various humanitarian programs to aid Gilgamesh's struggling immigrant communities, and thereby potentially win the sympathies of that portion of the population. Humanitarian groups also sought to provide offworld transport for some of the refugees. Unfortunately, the informal settlers' plight was also exploited by pirates and mercenary companies, who would occasionally press-gang desperate refugees into service, sometimes under the guise of humanitarian efforts. Meanwhile, the UNSC continued to conduct periodic patrols in the system, while trade deals were maintained with several Phoenix Initiative worlds, most notably Andesia. A 2566 pact with the Phoenix Initiative enabled Gilgamesh to be linked to the Initiative's wavespace relay network on the condition that the UNSC maintain a certain extent of military jurisdiction.

Society and politics
Prior to the Human-Covenant War, Gilgamesh was represented in the United Earth Government's Colonial Administration Authority via a loose coalition government which has persisted throughout the war and into the post-war era. In practice, however, the government has very little power and rampant corruption prevents them from acting. The real power is in the hands of a corporate council which represents the businesses that run the various enterprises on the colony. In fact, planet-wide regulations are not usually enforced, with each city acting like an independent polity, complete with their own laws enforced by private security firms. Official law-enforcement are unable or unwilling to counter the whims of such organizations, and are generally seen as powerless, weak, and often corrupt. Only those that attempt to challenge the status quo, or are felt to bring unwanted attention from the UEG or some higher authority, are usually opposed. The lack of power in their government means that the less well-off segments of the population are rarely given the social support they need, and this has turned them towards the various banks and financial establishments that dot the planet. This means that outside of the privileged tycoons, almost everyone who lives on Gilgamesh live in debt to some extent, and this has allowed many of them to be exploited in questionable professions.

Since Gilgamesh declared itself independent, the UNSC's mandate to protect the planet from enemies or pirates was formally withdrawn. Consequently, the Gilgamesh Governance Coalition has invested substantially in corporate security forces not only in the cities and orbital ports but also warships in an attempt to build a credible defense from hostile Covenant factions. Over the course of the 2560s, these business opportunities began to attract attention from Kig-Yar traders, various ex-Covenant mercenaries and even the Jjaibii Shroud Nexus, leading to a growing business relationship between Gilgamesh's businesses and ex-Covenant commercial entities. The human businesses also showed particular interested in technological trade; though this technological exchange would not be as widespread as that in the Via Casilina Community, it slotted itself naturally into Gilgamesh' already thriving corporate research and development sector.

In the decades after the war, a substantial number of ex-Covenant refugees also made their home on Gilgamesh, either seeking transient or permanent residence, though many of them sought to dwell in isolation from the human cities and settlements. Many also stayed in the orbital stations such Babylon, which had fallen to near-lawlessness by 2560. As the planet began attracting attention from ex-Covenant businesses, commercial guilds and mercenary bands, some of the local refugees would be hired into these or become advisors for local human businesses in their dealings with ex-Covenant entities. As Gilgamesh's peculiar political status became known, it attracted the attention of some of the more penitent ex-Covenant - especially Sangheili - operating in the Human Sphere. A group of Contrite arrived on the planet in 2556, setting up operations in the informal settlements around Ishtar and Eridu. There were also a handful of incidents involving lone Sangheili warriors clashing with corporate security in an effort to bring justice to the downtrodden segments of the population. Some were evidently affiliated with the Furious Absolution sect, while others acted on their own, leading a wandering, masterless existence in the wake of the war.

Industry
Gilgamesh hosts a massive tourism industry, which is primarily drawn to the colony because of its wide variety of shopping centers, casinos, spas, and large brothels. Items and services considered illegal elsewhere are readily traded here, and special economic exceptions dating back to the 2390s ensures that many of these can be bought at far lower prices than anywhere else in Human Space. Its proximity to many prominent Inner Colonies such as those in the Epsilon Eridani system as well as Andesia and Crystal meant that Gilgamesh could realistically market itself as an attractive tourist destination. Although this began in the early 25th century with relatively innocent attractions such as waterparks, hotels, spas and novelty adventure parks, Gilgamesh's popularity among UNSC military personnel and spacers in particular quickly led to the local industries branching in increasingly raunchy directions. By the Human-Covenant War, Gilgamesh's decadent reputation was well-established, and after a point the local Tourism Board gave up on attempting to advertise the colony as a family-friendly destination. This was to the chagrin of the locals not involved with the tourism business due to the questionable stereotypes now attributed to the planet.

The development of the tourism industry was partly caused by Gilgamesh's relative lack of natural resources; while mining and manufacturing industry do exist locally, it never became as major as to make the planet an industrial powerhouse. Some state-sanctioned industry is present on Gilgamesh, which has been established by the UNSC in an effort to keep unemployment numbers to a minimum, as well as replace depleting numbers of manufacturing centers lost. These most often supply weapons and material for use offworld, although several investing corporations have also used it as a cover for weapons research and development.

Gilgamesh's peculiar status has also given rise to unregulated research often involving cybernetics, biotechnology and augmentation, cloning, uplifting projects, AI and nanotechnology. Such research is most notably conducted in purpose-built orbital habitats where escape in the face of UNSC authorities (and the possible termination of experiments gone awry) is relatively easy, although the surface also boasts a few facilities. These research labs are rented out to external actors willing to pay handsomely for absolute privacy and as few questions asked as possible. While an emerging, secondary business as of the early 26th century, the Covenant War and the post-war era cemented such research stations as an industry even more profitable than the tourism the planet was once known for, and dozens more stations were built on the surface and in space alike. In the post-war era, Office of Naval Intelligence launched various covert operations in an effort to crack down on some of the worst excesses of this research (especially when it comes to dangerous technology). This was largely a hopeless endeavor as the local corporations covered their bases well, always ensuring plausible deniability and shifting the blame on the UNSC for infringing on the planet's sovereignty.

Until the glassing of virtually all colonies along sliplanes outward from the Anu system, the carousel station Babylon orbiting Gilgamesh served as a major commercial port, along with a number of lesser ports and warehouses in orbit and on the planet's moons. Since the war, Babylon remains a trafficked stopover for people arriving on the planet, though it has become crowded and crime-ridden, and by the 2650s, the Gilgamesh Tourism Board recommended visitors to avoid it in favor of the more secure Enki Orbital Elevator terminus.

In terms of foodstuffs, Gilgamesh claims to be self-sufficient, though the population growth caused by immigration has led to famines among refugee groups. Over the decades, as their situation did not improve, many refugee groups left the cities and began forming small communities in the wilderness, largely subsisting on farming and hunting. This too led to occasional clashes with the local corporate security, as the rural population were claimed to infringe on the property of corporate-maintained hunting preserves meant for wealthy offworlders.

Geography
Gilgamesh, which orbits the larger A component of the p Eridani binary star, is a largely arid, desertified world whose habitable zones and ecosystems in are centered around the poles. In large swathes around the equator, temperatures are extreme. However, a few forms of native life have adapted to survive in these regions, and the cavern systems house thriving ecosystems, which have been studied relatively little since the colony's founding. At just over half that of Earth standard, Gilgamesh's gravity is relatively low, which also makes the planet comfortable for most visitors. A substantial axial tilt gives the planet a peculiar seasonal cycle. For example, the regions near the south and north poles experience a months-long period of perpetual twilight and long nights during the local summer and winter, respectively; rather than a drawback, this is marketed as part of the charm of Gilgamesh's unique tourism experience, as the "season of perpetual nightlife". Gilgamesh's two natural satellites, Enlil and Ninlil, are small and unremarkable, though Enlil remains home to an orbital transfer port dating back to the colony's founding.

The planet's climate grows increasingly humid toward the poles, where much of the planet's atmospheric water vapor gathers; this is particular true in the north. The natural barrier of the inhospitable equatorial band divides the planet's settlements into two groups. Overall, the southern polar region is more hospitable and densely inhabited, being the first area of the planet to be settled and housing most of the planet's cities, while the northern one is largely covered in oceans. Around a decade after the planet's colonization began, a second group of colonists settled in the northern region, though they never became as notable as the initial efforts in the south.

The most iconic imagery of Gilgamesh are the architecture of the cities, which are heavily influenced by Mesopotamian design cues. These are characterized by tall skyscrapers that are flanked by ziggurat-style casinos and hotels. Originating in a single city as part of a marketing strategy, this scheme has spread to become dominant the look of the planet's major population centers, although a small number of towns stand out by basing their structures on other ancient cultures. The overall feeling is to inspire a sense of opulence among tourists. Likewise, place names on Gilgamesh and across the Anu system largely follow an ancient Mesopotamian theme.

Gilgamesh's habitable zones are home to several floodplains and low-lying valleys where water collects at certain times of the year, so these cities built in these regions are designed to withstand the phenomenon. This has caused issues with establishing underground infrastructure, as the soil and rock is so water-clogged that these are prone to collapsing if not properly reinforced. In addition, the first refugee camps built during the Human-Covenant War also had to be abandoned periodically, as the wet and dry seasons made them impossible to inhabit without being submersed for months at a time. Certain regions of the planet experience a considerable tidal phenomenon due to the gravitational influence of its two moons, making coastal lowlands virtually uninhabitable without seawalls or stilted structures.

The largest and best-known cities on Gilgamesh include Ishtar (sometimes called the "prostitution capital" of the Human Sphere), Uruk, Eridu and Akkad.