Arentium (ah-rehnt-ee-uhm)

Arentium (Ah-rehnt-ee-uhm) was a bleak “dead” universe crippled by war. The only survivors of these Titanic Wars clung to life aboard the space station known as “the Duat.”

Government

Politics on Arentium were mired in constant bickering between its survivors. Administrative heads of departments functioned as representatives of their respected profession. These included Science, Religion, Engineering, Food and Water, and Education. It was up to these leaders to decide on how best to proceed. They never agreed on anything so not much ever got done.  The government was involved in all aspects of Arenitum life. Nobody was allowed to go anything without the government’s approval. Free speech and thought were outlawed. Those closest to administrative officials benefitted modestly from their relationships.

Earth and Fabella

Arentium scientists discovered Earth by accident through a wormhole to another universe. Here they discovered that they could grow old and revert back to their younger ages when they returned to their home universe. Blessed with this newfound knowledge they started the kingdom of Egypt where they were worshipped as gods. Later, Fabella also became part of this transdimensional conquest for universal domination.

The Science Administrative Head took it upon himself to unlawfully oversee the mission to exploit Earth, and later Fabella, for its goods and resources. This was a mutual partnership with the Food and Water Administration to supply the space station with the necessary resources. Their arrangement was not supported by the Religion and Engineering administrators. Much of their dealings had to be done in secret.

Lifestyle

A thousand years on Earth passed for each day on Arentium.  Everyone in Arentium lived in squalor. The space station, aimlessly drifted through the empty universe during its final years. Since their lives depended on a stagnant government, Arentian life was a daily struggle to survive. Trash sat in the dark cramped walkways, holes were unsatisfactorily patched with rusted metal, food was scarce, and power slowly depleted.

Families were kept small because there wasn’t much room. Males were unable to engage in sex because the lack of gravity diminished their blood flow. Applications had to be filed with the government, in triplicate, for parents to grow an infant in a test tube. This process was difficult. Only those with close ties to government officials were permitted to have one son or daughter. Most children were orphaned anyway since the life expectancy was extremely low. Dead bodies were reported to the government for immediate evacuation into deep space. This normally took several days and sometimes months to complete. It became a fairly regular practice for loved ones to dispose of the body themselves, but because a report was never filed with the government, that person was still declared legally alive. Such was the case with the Head of Education, who lived on in paperwork and retained his post even though he had been dead for several years.