Escobar (planet)

This is a list of planets that appear in the Vorkosigan Saga, a series of science fiction novels and short stories by Lois McMaster Bujold.

Predominantly agricultural planet connected to the Hegen Hub, which is its only route to the rest of the galaxy. Never seen firsthand in the saga.

A planet with an exclusively male population with is somewhat isolated and remote within the wormhole nexus. The homeworld of Dr. Ethan Urquhart in the novel Ethan of Athos. The population is maintained by obtaining ova from imported human ovaries, combining them with the father's semen, and incubating the resulting fetus in the ubiquitous "uterine replicator" which appears throughout the stories. Naturally only male babies are born. the receipt of a shipment of bad ovaries sends Ethan off-planet to find what happened to the proper shipment, and into the center of a plot involving Barrayaran and Cetagandan agents.

Most of the men form permanent or semi-permanent relationships to help in raising children, whose birth must be approved by local committees. Some men (who, it is implied, are strongly heterosexual) cannot enter into such relationships. They variously become "confirmed bachelors", monks of a sort, or simply leave the planet. The planet is named for the Mount Athos in Greece, which is home to monasteries where no women are allowed.

A planet with a feudal, military culture. Homeworld of protagonist Miles Vorkosigan. It is an Earth-like planet with a 26.7 hour day, but its native vegetation is inedible, and sometimes dangerous, for humans and Earth-descended life; terraforming is necessary for settlement. Indeed, the settlers' dislike of the vegetation is shown in the choice of names, Bloody Puffweed and Razorgrass being among them. It has two major continents, as well as islands in its oceans. Since there are areas of Arctic-like climate, as well as temperate zones with winter snow, it has to be assumed that there are also polar oceans and/or land masses under icecaps. Geographical diversity is similar to the Earth, with flat plains, high mountains, swamps and river valleys.

Size/population

Barrayar itself has a very small population relative to many other planets in the universe. The exact number is not mentioned in the novels, but there are known to be 60 Districts, each with a Count in charge, and some districts at least have populations measured in the millions. Thus a total planetary population of 60 to 120 million seems likely. In addition, Barrayaran casualties during the Cetagandan occupation are described as being "about five million", which would be disastrous in a population of 50 million or less. (Compare to Paraguay's losses during the Paraguayan War.) Compare this to Old Earth, with a population in the billions. The original settlement of Barrayar comprised about 50,000 people.

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