abstract | - Providence III, or simply "Providence", was the third planet in the Providence star system, located in Federation space in the Alpha or the Beta Quadrant. It had no moons and was a class M world. It was the site of an Orion colony. Both planet and star are named Providence; which is named after which is unknown. All following references to "Providence" are to the planet. It was a strange planet, being particularly small—the horizon was disturbingly only half-a-kilometer away—but it was habitable and rather pleasant. Some suspected Providence to be artificial, but it was too well-made to show any signs of its construction. The planet appeared to be an open-air terraforming research laboratory, where experiments in moving mountains, redirecting rivers, and altering weather patterns could support similar, large-scale projects. The Orions who lived on Providence in the 23rd century claimed to have fashioned the world. However, they only occasionally tinkered with a couple of its features using their own equipment. Others theorized that whatever race built Rigel III may have created this planet too. The Federation's Providence Planetform Research Team, numbering twenty-four, were stationed on the planet in the late 23rd century and attempted to solve the mystery of this world's origins. They carried out some tinkering of their own, but found even the Orion equipment puzzling. The source says "the Orion equipment left behind", suggesting that the Orions may have left the world, though their population remains dominant. Though the planet lays in Federation, it is not clear if Providence is affiliated with the UFP. Providence had a technological/sociopolitical index of 999974-74 and a planetary trade profile of EBEAEHD/D(X). It had a warm temperate climate, a terrestrial atmosphere and a 31-hour day. It had a total surface area of 28,274,330 square kilometers, with 74% land mass, a total land area of 20,923,000 square kilometers. About 9% of its makeup was normal metals, 10% was radioactive elements, 10% was gemstones, and it had trace amounts of special minerals and industrial crystals. (FASA RPG module: The Orions: Book of Common Knowledge)
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