Astronomical Society

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Astronomical Society (天文台)
Alias(es)	International Astronomical Society; publicly announced at its founding as the International Astronomical Union 40 1154
Type	International current-realm defense, administration, and research organization
Affiliation	Unified Bureau; historically associated with Utopia, the Continuance Institute, the Technical Department, and the Pioneer Society 106 944
Occupation/Role	Maintains the current realm, counters border and Hell threats, regulates Ascendant affairs, and coordinates exploration, research, and armed defense 41 80 444
Political Position	Formally objective and neutral; avoids developing its London territory into a “Sixth Power” whose interests would conflict with the Five Powers 1338
Status	Entered transition under the Heaven Project after Huai Shi became its last President 1681
First Appearance	Chapter 4

Background and History

Formation

The Astronomical Society emerged from the Pioneer Society’s alliance with the major lineages during a period of upheaval, helping re-establish the foundations of the current realm. Its founding members selected the London Six Islands and Greenwich Observatory to symbolize an organization without nationality or borders. 971 1154

Its present international form was established ninety years before the events of Chapter 40, under the Vanguard Council’s advocacy and with the participation of Dongxia, Rome, the Russian Union, the American Commonwealth, and the First Dynasty of Egypt. It was created to counter threats beyond the borders. 40

The Society’s establishment did not end conflict. Global-scale war ceased, but competition for influence inside the Unified Bureau continued through proxy wars and disputes over border development. 40

Utopia Era

Before its decline, Utopia served as the Astronomical Society’s ruling core. Under Utopia’s blueprint, Ascendants explored Hell, the Technical Department extracted and applied discoveries, the Continuance Institute tested them, and the Unified Bureau distributed usable results throughout the current realm. 106

One product of that era was Heaven: not an afterlife, but a vast archive intended to preserve human knowledge and wisdom. The Book of Destiny functions as a catalogue of Heaven’s records. 106

Utopia’s fall became a major taboo even outside the Society. Its surviving members, the Unified Bureau, and the Astronomical Society all retained claims or interests in its remaining authority and institutions. 329 518

Unified Bureau Reorganization

Following the loss of the Three Pillars, the Unified Bureau took control of the Astronomical Society and expanded its authority across the current realm. It later relinquished and shared portions of that power, abolished the Director position, and adopted the Central Decision-Making Room structure. 1473

The resulting organization became vast but increasingly criticized as bloated and slow, despite continuing to coordinate the current realm’s defense and administration. 1473

Heaven Project Transition

After Yegor’s death, Huai Shi inherited the presidency as the Astronomical Society’s last President. The newly created Heaven Organization became the reconstructed nexus of power in the current realm, while Huai Shi initiated the Great Arcanum modification program as the Heaven Project’s first official act. 1681

The stated rationale for this transition was that an institution built to negate Hell should not indefinitely survive after Hell and the Abyss cease to exist; otherwise, its control over human society could become another form of oppression. 1681

Organization and Governance

Body	Function
Unified Bureau	The Society’s current ruling body. Its leading membership includes the five permanent members of the Security Council, while its broader structure includes political dignitaries and major monopolistic groups from multiple countries. 17 40
Central Decision-Making Room	The Unified Bureau’s central political and executive structure following the abolition of the Director position. 1473
Utopia	The former ruling core that set the Society’s grand blueprint and coordinated its major institutions before its collapse. 106
Continuance Institute	Research and experimentation body that tested discoveries from Hell. Its administrator is heavily concealed due to the distortion accumulated by the Institute. 106 1115
Technical Department	Scholar-led department that extracts knowledge and technology from exploration results, including alchemy, mechanics, essence studies, and border-relic reverse engineering. 106 305
Pioneer Society	Both the historical predecessor of the Astronomical Society and a concealed organization that continues to operate within its true power structure. 138 944

Mandate and Authority

• The Society maintains the current realm against Hell’s erosion, analyzes divine heritage, develops Holy Mark systems, and supports exploration of Hell’s deeper layers. 80
• It is the only organization authorized to forcibly conscript Ascendants for combat after approval by the Five Permanent Members of the Unified Bureau. Other forces may not illegally detain Ascendants or conduct inhumane experiments on them. 41
• The protections governing Ascendants are inscribed in the Twelve Tables, limiting military exploitation of extraordinary individuals while preserving their use in border defense. 41
• The Society’s inspectors possess substantial authority, but local Special Affairs Departments may supervise them; detention, handling, and trial are reserved for the relevant country’s central management committee. 33
• It cannot openly interfere in a sovereign nation’s internal affairs, particularly where local sovereignty is contested. This restriction often forces it to work through approved, indirect, or limited interventions. 729
• Beyond the Five Powers’ sovereign territories, an Astronomical Society military officer’s identification carries enough weight to make hostile Ascendants immediately reconsider confrontation. 471

Infrastructure and Capabilities

Great Seals and Current-Realm Maintenance

The Astronomical Society maintains the Zarathustra Great Ritual, a Great Seal created through the work of numerous Creators. It inscribes laws into the current realm, reinforces humanity’s advantage over Hell, and forms a barrier against deep erosion. 346

The Rainbow Bridge serves primarily as a transport system during normal periods and can be fully activated in emergencies. The third of the Three Great Seals remains highly classified, with its details restricted even among much of the Society’s senior personnel. 346

Society identification is cross-verified through the Three Great Blockades and is regarded as effectively impossible to forge. 548

Legions

The first Ascendants and Creators established the Legion system after the discovery of Holy Marks, addressing the shortage of personnel capable of surviving and operating in Hell. 253

• Deep Space Legion — A fleet-based force operating alchemical warships beneath the depths. It can rapidly deploy subordinate abyssal legions and conduct saturation bombardment against major threats such as the Golden Dawn’s Land of Nothingness. 444
• Containment-oriented Legion — One of the Four Great Legions manages, maintains, and employs dangerous relics collected across the current realm, while responding to containment breaches and runaway-relic incidents. 1264
• Four Great Legions — Form the Society’s principal military force during large-scale wars, while allied or independent legions may be assigned assault, defense, or support roles. 1361

Information Control and Identity Operations

The Society can issue emergency notices when border conditions disrupt the Book of Destiny’s information updates, including temporary emergency regulations for current-realm information provision. 30

Its cognitive operations help preserve the divide between ordinary society and extraordinary phenomena. Through extensive verification, records, and approved procedures, it can establish convincing civilian identities and supporting documentation within minutes. 729 960

Personnel and Membership

The Society employs far more ordinary people than Ascendants. It has over one million direct and indirect peripheral employees and more than one hundred thousand officially registered staff members, including ordinary personnel in high-ranking positions. 327

Registered official members gain access to internal purchasing systems at cost price and can pay in current-realm currency rather than origin essence crystals. 116

Formal military officers receive broad travel privileges throughout the current realm and most borders; even relatively junior officer ranks carry authority comparable to a lieutenant. 373

The Society relies on inspectors, military officers, scholars, alchemists, technical personnel, administrators, explorers, and operational teams. Its employees may be assigned local branch duties, border investigations, current-realm maintenance work, or expeditionary military missions. 33 323 422

Institutional Relations

• Five Powers — Dongxia, Rome, the Russian Union, the American Commonwealth, and Egypt founded the present international Society and retain major influence through the Unified Bureau. 40
• Six Great Lineages — The Five Powers control almost all of the six major recognized lineages, giving the Society considerable leverage over global Ascendant affairs. 92
• Special Affairs Department — Cooperates with Society inspectors on local incidents, though their relationship is often strained by overlapping authority. 17 41
• Ivory Tower — A former Utopia training and logistics institution that became independent after Utopia’s fall but retains close ties with the Astronomical Society, particularly through research and archaeological cooperation. 422
• Stone Kiln Society — Nominally independent alchemical organization with significant Astronomical Society ties; the Society is its second-largest shareholder. 116
• Pureblood Families — Ancient Ascendant lineages tied to the Society since its earliest years. Many retain major positions within the Five Powers and control private borders, wealth, and hereditary Ascendant Paths. 420 518
• Heaven Organization — Successor power nexus established in London to oversee the Heaven Project under Huai Shi’s final presidency. 1681