The vast, boundless universe was enormous and mysterious. Yet the planets capable of nurturing life and providing the conditions necessary for it to survive often displayed astonishing similarities in certain external conditions and key data.
Take the planet that a certain little girl had just arrived on. It was Coruscant, the political center and capital of the Galactic Republic, which governed countless trillions of lives.
The planet wasn't actually very large. It had a diameter of 12,240 kilometers, an orbital period of 368 days, a rotation period of 24 standard Earth hours, and standard gravity of 9.81 m/s². It was astonishingly similar to a planet in the Solar System that had given rise to humanity: one with a diameter of 12,756 kilometers, an orbital period of 365.24219 days, a rotation period of 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4 seconds, and standard gravity of 9.81 m/s².
So it was hardly surprising that Coruscant could support life and had developed into the highly advanced world it was today.
That day, inside the immense, cavernous, circular steel hall on Coruscant—an enormous, sturdy building that looked like a giant mushroom and was surrounded or guarded by countless tall, slender silver statues of aliens—the Galactic Republic's Supreme Chancellor, Finis Valorum, and several thousand senators, along with representatives and senators from the Republic's far-flung worlds, were engaged in a heated debate.
The issue under discussion was the proposal made three days earlier by Annie Hastur, leader of the Hero Federation from the Koprulu Sector, and General Nova, the federation's representative. They had arrived aboard a large stealth warship for a "state visit," and were now asking to represent the Hero Federation in joining the Galactic Republic, with the hope of securing a legitimate senior seat in the Senate.
Under normal circumstances, when a new nation within