Ganoten’s name comes from the Italian word ganlio and the German word knotenpunkt, both of which mean junction. Since Ganoten sits at the junction of four long push routes, meaning it is the most convenient and cost-effective way to connect the systems: Alscina’a, Quirahn, Sallob-Daye, and Tihroll.
Originally settled by Count Uberto Oderico, a title he gave himself to sound important, Ganoten’s strategic location allowed him to establish a robust economy in spite of how poorly he managed it. It was a third-planet with a relatively narrow tropical band, large dry bands, narrow temperate and continental bands, and large polar regions. In spite of this, several natural wonders like the Volcamma Islands, Oscalla Plateau, and Cielokraz and Urtossa Mountain Ranges attracted tourists producing a strong flow of capital from neighboring systems.
When Konoliner first annexed Ganoten, they began systematic terraforming, relocating many of the dams, extending forests, planting desert grasses, and modifying deep-water mountain ranges to redirect ocean currents. Their initial efforts produced modest results, but the expanded temperate areas increased crop yields and created more abundant and pleasant city locations, moving Ganoten from third-planet to second-planet status. It wasn’t until the introduction of the first effective weather control devices that Ganoten rose to first-planet status.
General Rutger Baumeister took charge of Ganoten before Konoliner added beauty to their principles, but he wanted to expand upon the planet’s attractions by creating man-made wonders where natural ones didn’t exist. Protol City adopted gradually shifting architectural styles built into a large grid of buildings enclosing courtyards, mini-forests, meadows, and gardens. Depung Tso blended the best East Asian architectural styles. Oscalla was built to remind people of ancient European stone cities like Athens and Rome. And every village in the Volcamma Islands was revised to focus on a specific local attraction with Eben Verde serving as the one-stop tourist magnet.
When Konoliner scientists discovered tonatium’s special properties, Ganoten underwent a second transformation. Since the most common alloys used to build large structures contained a healthy percentage of tonatium, a concerted effort was made to rebuild all of the major cities and reclaim the tonatium. Fortunately, this occurred after weather control had transformed Ganoten into a first-planet. Expecting an abundance of wealth, Ganoten’s leaders created one of the universe’s most attractive destinations by planning for growth, modified weather, and modern conveniences.
Unfortunately, Ganoten’s wealth potential allowed Konoliner’s leaders to commit follies similar to the ones Count Oderico’s regime had. Corruption was rampant at the highest levels and labor abuses strained relations between Kye Star and Konoliner. It wasn’t until August General Barcaleon arrived that a more orderly and universally profitable situation began to take shape.
However, a threat to Konoliner rule was about to emerge. That threat is chronicled in The Assassin’s Cradle.