Rigel Concourse
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In Jack Vance's "Demon Princes" novels, the Rigel Concourse is a system of habitable planets orbiting Rigel. The orbits are very distant (otherwise the planets would not be habitable in view of the star's immense luminosity) and it is conjectured in The Killing Machine that the planets were brought into the system in antiquity by a vanished alien race. There are additionally six planets much closer to Rigel and consequently uninhabitable.
The Concourse planets are twenty-six in number and were given fanciful names shortly after their discovery by a clerk, one Roger Pilgham, who did not approve of the names given them by their rather stuffy discoverer, Sir Julian Hove. Pilgham fittingly chose one name for each letter of the alphabet, using fairytale or made-up names as he pleased. In alphabetical order the planets of the Concourse are named:
- Alphanor
- Alphanor is a large bright sea world, somewhat larger than Earth and with a marginally greater proportion of water, with seven conjoined continents and countless islands. Though first in alphabetical order, it is the eighth member of the Concourse in orbit around Rigel. Alphanor is beautiful and well-adapted to human life; it also boasts much native life of its own, including the hyrcan major (apparently anthropoid to judge by a reference in The Palace of Love) and the invisible eel. It features the prestigious Sea Province University, Sailmaker Beach, and the Grand Esplanade at Avente, the planetary capital. Alphanor is considered the administrative node and cultural centre of the Concourse. Kirth Gersen lived on Alphanor during part of his upbringing, and visits it repeatedly during the course of his adventures.
- Barleycorn
- Chrysanthe
- Diogenes
- Elfland
- Fiame
- Goshen
- Hardacres
- Image
- Jezebel
- Krokinole
- Lyonesse
- Madagascar
- Nowhere
- Olliphane
- Fifteenth in alphabetical order, but nineteenth in order from the star. Somewhat smaller than Earth, it comprises a greater proportion of metals and so its gravity is broadly similar. Its mineral wealth (as well as a mountainous geography naturally favouring hydroelectric power) has made it a natural target for industrialisation and it is probably the Concourse's industrial heartland, though there are significant works on the nearby planets of Tantamount and Lyonesse. Its population is generally stolid and industrious, with a highly-ordered caste system largely impenetrable to outworlders. Gersen visits Olliphane once as part of his detective work in Star King.
- Pilgham
- Quinine
- Raratonga
- Somewhere
- Tantamount
- Unicorn
- Valisande
- Walpurgis
- Xion
- Ys
- Original home of Pallis Atwrode. Named locations include Singhal Island, the Palmetto Islands and Lantango Peninsula. The inhabitants sometimes practise sibling marriage. While acceptable on Ys, this is considered scandalous elsewhere in the Concourse.
- Zacaranda
Following the discovery of Pilgham's substitution, the pompous Sir Julian was officially invited to reinstate his initial designations (principally the names of literary and historical figures from the British Empire), but the public imagination was caught by Pilgham's cheek and Hove's names soon lapsed.
Many of the planets are not only inhabitable but extremely pleasant to live on, and all are settled to a greater or lesser degree. Some (principally Olliphane, Lyonesse and Tantamount) are mineral-rich and given over to heavy industry. The entire system is considered one of the primary focal points of the Oikumene and certainly represents the greatest concentration of habitable planets.
