Absalom Station

Absalom Station is a sprawling, densely inhabited space station filling a similar orbit that the forgotten planet Golarion once held around its sun. Its inhabitants include races native to, or descended from natives of, Golarion, making the station the last relic of the lost planet remaining in the Pact Worlds system. The station is also a focal point of the galaxy due to the Starstone, which makes the station effectively near every place in the galaxy via the Drift.[1]

History
While the station is a technological marvel, its history stretches back centuries into the span of lost history known as the Gap.

Pre-Gap
Absalom Station's origins, builders, and even its reason for existence are lost to the Gap and remain unknown. It occupies the orbit once held by pre-Gap Golarion, and records have linked the name "Absalom" to a prominent city  in the missing planet's pre-Gap history. These facts, along with the presence of Golarion-native races on the station, led scholars to guess that Absalom Station was built by mortal natives of Golarion, but even this is supposition.[2]

After Gap
Absalom Station has been the focal point of many of the Pact Worlds system's most important events.

Immediately after the Gap, the station's residents were suddenly without a homeworld, history, or even societal structures, leading to anarchy and violence. If not for a nearly catastrophic atmospheric systems malfunction, the station's residents might not have ended its lawless violence to form the Syndicsguild — a governmental council formed by the leaders of the rampant gangs — and elect its inaugural Prime Executive, Loqua Tem.[2]

Triune's gift of Drift travel in 3 AG quickly thrust the station into the galactic limelight. The Starstone that powers the station served as a powerful Drift beacon that drew newly gifted Drift-traveling visitors from across the galaxy.[2]

In 7 AG, the Bone Sages of Eox launched the Magefire Assault in an attempt to capture the station by force. Its powerful defenses, however, held off the undead fleet.[2]

After vesk incursions into the Golarion system (as the Pact Worlds system was then known) in 36 AG, officials from Absalom Station, Verces, and Castrovel called for the formation of a system-wide defense and governance pact. The Absalom Pact was named for the station, and the Pact Worlds' formation made Absalom Station its effective capital.[3][1]

Geography
At five miles in diameter, Absalom Station is a tiny structure compared to the planets and moons of other worlds. It has artificial gravity and relies heavily on recycling. However, it is also a densely populated place that more than 2 million people call home.[1][2]

From above, it is shaped like an asymmetrical six-pointed star, spread across a flat disk with the central habitation zone covered in a dome.[4]

Districts
The station is divided into several districts:
 * The Armada
 * A flotilla of spaceships, many of them semi-permanent structures comprised of several ships rafted together, form a transient and chaotic neighborhood surrounding the station.[5]


 * The Arms
 * Radial arms extend from the station's center and form its many docking bays.[6]


 * The Ring
 * Corridors connect the Arms to the central Eye, forming a decidedly middle-class neighborhood.[7]


 * The Eye
 * The central dome of the station houses its most upscale residents, largest businesses, and most prominent organizations.[8]


 * The Spike
 * Slums and gang warrens fill the space beneath the Eye, extending down to the heavily defended Starstone Reactor.[9]

Economy, trade, and travel
Absalom Station is a hub of intragalactic space travel thanks to the Starstone, which both powers the station and serves as a mysterious but extremely powerful Drift beacon. Thanks to the Starstone, a starship with a Drift engine in Drift-accessible points of the galaxy can reach Absalom Station in less than a week, even if travel to any other location would take longer.[1]

The station is also home to numerous corporations, most prominently the home offices of AbadarCorp.[1]

Government

 * See also: Syndicsguild and Prime Executive

Absalom Station is ruled by the Syndicsguild and its term-limited elected leader, the Prime Executive. The current Prime Executive is Kumara Melacruz. The Syndicsguild is elected to represent electoral districts that are frequently gerrymandered to favor certain factions over others, including some corporations and criminal gangs.[10]

The station is a neutral space for the Pact Worlds system's inhabitants. Security robots manufactured by AbadarCorp help to enforce its laws, though some complain that the best-equipped models patrol only the station's wealthiest neighborhoods.[11]