Human Space refers to the region of the galaxy where the majority of human civilization thrives. It is centred around the Soul-system and spans a roughly spherical area with a diameter of 100 to 300 light-years.
The number of stars within Human Space is heavily influenced by the unique galactic conditions post- the End. Before the catastrophic acceleration of entropy, the Orion Arm was a densely populated stellar region. Now, Human Space encompasses a mix of surviving stars, remnants of collapsed systems, and new acquisitions from interstellar drift within the the Palm of The Last Hand.
Estimated Star Count in Human Space
- Pre-End Stellar Density: Human Space, covers a rough 100–300 light-year diameter sphere, would have originally contained 20,000 to 100,000 stars, typical for a region this size in the old Milky Way.
- Post-End Star Loss: Following The End, 50–80% of these stars either collapsed into black holes, neutron stars, or were destroyed in supernovae due to the acceleration of entropy. This leaves around 4,000 to 20,000 stars remaining in the region.
Composition of Human Space's Stars
Stars who survived from the original Orion Arm stellar population. These make up the majority of stars near the Soul System. As the Last Hand drifted away from the Galactic Core, its gravity captured new stars from nearby galactic features, such as remnants of spiral arms or inter-arm stars. These "new" stars are often distant, faint, and scattered.
Human Space also contains a significant number of black holes, neutron stars, and white dwarfs, remnants of the heat-death-induced collapse. These systems are rich in exotic materials but dangerous to explore. Some locations once listed as star systems are now home to unthreatened planetary remnants, massive orbital habitats, or asteroid-based colonies around stellar corpses or black hole accretion zones.
Although the exact number of habitable systems is far lower, humanity has adapted to occupy many of these surviving stars. Colonies and outposts extend to even the dimmest, smallest stars or exist as free-floating installations in interstellar space, reflecting the human endeavour to overcome any odds. Human Space is therefore less about raw stellar count and more about the survivability and utility of each system within this fragmented, resource-scarce galactic context.