Great Ehlo Empire

The Great Ehlo Empire is a player-controlled empire in Kerbilization III and the largest body of sentient organisms in the Ogzor system. The empire, which is based out of Tau, is comprised of Ghen lifeforms, who are the dominant species in the region. The Great Ehlo Empire is also the only entity in the system capable of faster-than-light travel. The empire is lead by Trenus Aritae, who rules the dominion as its Guardian-Protector.

Etymology
"Ehlo", is the Ghen word for "enlightenment". The direct translation from Ghen to English works out to be "The Great Enlightenment Empire". A more plausible translation reads, "The Great Enlightened Empire."

History
The Great Ehlo Empire was founded in 417 BSG3 following the planetary unification of Tau. This event, which has come to be known as "The Great Union", was brought about by a formal political agreement between the Aen Confederation and the Eulian Protective Sovereignty, the two largest super-nations of Tau. After subjugating the remaining nation-states over the course of the following decades, the Great Ehlo Empire turned its focus to the stars, recognizing that the planet's resource supply was dwindling fast (while the population was growing exponentially).

Though the empire had limited success with primitive terraforming efforts on Tau's moons over the following century, they did manage to establish a number of mining, energy, and research stations throughout the solar system, eliminating the resource crisis altogether within a few decades. Lacking the equipment to effectively terraform, the empire's top scientists turned their attention to polyspace manipulation, which they (correctly) believed could be the secret to interstellar travel.

The first rudimentary polyspace manipulation devices were constructed around the final century BSG3, though they were not perfected until roughly 0 ASG3.

Government
The Great Ehlo Empire is, first and foremost, a technocracy. As such, the individuals who are in control of the government usually come from a background in engineering or theoretical science. The nation is run by a small group of technical experts who appoint an absolute ruler. Although most industry in the nation is privately owned and operated, the state does own several factories and mines, which are used primarily for producing the materials needed for interstellar expansion and colonization.

Leaders

 * Trenus Aritae - Guardian Protector of the Great Ehlo Empire (52-present)
 * Ano Sansaba† - Former Guardian Protector of the Great Ehlo Empire (10 BSG3-51 BSG3)
 * Aeliad Castille† - Grand Admiral of the Galactic Navy (40-58)
 * Eladid Centae - Inventor of the Ehloite Polyspace Pulse Drive (0), Director of the Ehlo Department of Areospace Exploration (DAE) (4-18)
 * Stargari Sagita Elemae† - Director of the Ehlo DAE (8 BSG3-4 ASG3)

Society
The Great Ehlo Empire has a highly stratified society. The intelligent and wealthy live lavishly while less intelligent Ehloites are usually doomed to a life of mining or farming. Controlling nearly all inhabitable regions of Tau, the nation has access to every resource available on the planet. As a result, the actual mechanisms produced by Ehloites tend to be of very high quality. Most Ehloites take great pride in their work and will be highly insulted by claims that their product was sub-par.