THE WORLD OF AD STELLA

The world of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury uses the Ad Stella (A.S.) calendar system. The prologue takes place in A.S. 101, while Suletta transfers to Asticassia School of Technology in A.S. 122. But what kind of world is Ad Stella?

CORPORATE EXPANSION INTO SPACE

When multiple corporations began their expansion into space and started constructing Fronts (space colonies) at the beginning of the Ad Stella era, a Space Administration Agency was established under the Space Development Treaty. Its purpose was to serve as a central governing body in space, with Front Communities placed under its jurisdiction to oversee each Lagrange point area.

However, as various challenges emerged during the early days of space development, the Space Administration Agency struggled to address these issues. Meanwhile, space corporations experienced rapid economic growth, dramatically shifting the power balance in space toward corporate dominance. Unable to function effectively, the Space Administration Agency gradually became a mere shell of its former self.

The relationship between Front Communities and corporations naturally favored the corporate side, as companies shouldered the enormous costs of constructing and operating the Fronts. Lagrange 4, led by the Benerit Group, exemplifies this dynamic perfectly. Space corporations quickly grew to massive proportions, leading to intensified economic competition and occasional skirmishes between companies. However, at this point, the strong economic interdependence between space and Earth prevented space corporations from causing significant damage to the Earth Sphere.

CONCLUSION OF THE SPACE LIAISON COUNCIL TREATY

As tensions between space corporations escalated and the risk of armed conflict loomed, the Space Liaison Council Treaty was established to restrict invasion of other Fronts and testing of weapons of mass destruction in space. On the same day this treaty was signed, space oversight organizations and Front Communities launched the “Space Front Community” (SFC) as a practical forum for resolving inter-Front disputes.

Learning from past failures of purely community-based organizations, the SFC engaged in profitable transactions and welcomed several space corporations as members. The SFC continued to expand its membership, evolving into a massive organization representing the interests of both space corporations and Front Communities. In less than a decade after its establishment, it absorbed the Space Administration Agency and reorganized into the Space Assembly League to function more effectively as an administrative body.

EARTH’S DECLINE

As space Front construction progressed, Earth gradually established regional economic zones, eventually forming ten administrative blocks of varying sizes. However, political and economic instability led to constant conflicts both within and between these administrative blocks.

Space corporations, bound by the Space Liaison Treaty that prohibited armed conflicts in space, saw an opportunity in Earth’s volatile situation. Under the guise of “cooperation” with each block, they began extending massive loans and leasing military hardware to Earth-based factions. This arrangement served the corporations’ hidden agenda – turning Earth into a testing ground for their weaponry. Soon after, conflicts intensified, erupting into simultaneous multi-front wars between blocks across the planet.

Earth’s administrative blocks, already unable to repay their existing corporate debts, found themselves trapped in a cycle of taking on additional loans to purchase exorbitantly priced mobile suits. This spiral plunged their economies into severe depression. While Earth’s factions possessed mobile suits, they were prohibited from developing MS or other weapons themselves. Moreover, they lacked both the technological infrastructure and economic foundation for such development. This disparity only served to cement the space corporations’ economic dominance as time passed.

During this period, the space corporations established UNDER, an economic assistance organization, on Earth, ostensibly to prevent spontaneous conflicts and ensure stable governance of the administrative blocks. Though staffed by representatives from Earth’s various blocks, UNDER effectively became an instrument for implementing space-side policies.

WAR-SHARING AND THE EARTH-SPACE DIVIDE

Following the Space Liaison Treaty, conflicts between space corporations evolved from direct confrontations in space to proxy wars fought by their affiliated Earth administrative blocks. While this “controlled warfare” prevented Earth from falling into complete catastrophe, from Earth’s perspective, the fighting never ceased, and exploitation by space corporations continued unabated. Before the Space Liaison Treaty, the disparity between space and Earth, between Spacians and Earthians, was primarily economic, existing mainly between the entrepreneurs, wealthy elite, and space industry specialists who ventured into space to pioneer new industries centered around Permet technology, and those who remained on Earth.

However, after Earth became an arena for corporate conflicts and the war-sharing system was established, the devastation of war bred both moral decay among Earthians and a deepening hatred toward Spacians. This transformed into an ideological divide far beyond mere economic differences, creating an insurmountable rift between the two populations. As of A.S. 122, this situation shows no signs of improvement—if anything, it continues to deteriorate.

Caption: Earthians’ resentment toward what they perceive as one-sided oppression by Spacians continues to intensify. Inevitably, this discontent has become a flashpoint for conflict, sometimes leading to the emergence of organizations that justify armed resistance. The population ratio stands at approximately 2 Spacians to 8 Earthians.

Caption: Diagram of the War-Sharing system. In Earth-based conflicts, space corporations supply weapons and resources to various factions, receiving payments from each group for profit. This structure has effectively turned Earth into a testing ground for new weapons. Only a minimal portion of the profits generated from this system is reinvested in Earth.

BENERIT GROUP FRONT

Constructed at Lagrange Point 4, the Benerit Group’s Front employs a more sophisticated design compared to the Asticassia School of Technology’s Front, where the torus-shaped structure is simply mounted (effectively embedded) into an asteroid. Instead, Benerit’s approach involves first establishing a rotational axis on the asteroid as a foundation, then expanding the torus-shaped Front outward from this core. Within the Benerit Front, member corporations maintain their own sectors, with headquarters functions concentrated within the facility. Beyond executive department floors and conference rooms, the Front houses cultural facilities such as art galleries. Major companies within the group, including the three branches, have established their CEO offices and private hangars here.

Caption: While Front structures vary in design, most employ a system of expandable single units called modules. These standardized modules are manufactured in factories and transported in a compact, folded state to minimize shipping costs before being assembled on-site. However, some custom-designed Fronts exist, like the Benerit Group’s Front, featuring unique designs and functionalities.

CONSTRUCTION OF SPACE FRONTS (COLONIES)

As of the A.S. 120s, humanity lacks the scientific capability to construct and stabilize massive structures (Fronts) in empty space. Consequently, Fronts are built using asteroids as their foundation, expanding outward from these natural anchors. These Fronts are positioned at Lagrange points, locations where the gravitational forces between Earth and the Moon achieve equilibrium. While there are five Earth-Moon Lagrange points, designated Lagrange 1 through Lagrange 5, Benerit Group companies predominantly establish their Fronts at Lagrange 4. It’s worth noting that in Ad Stella, space colonies (Fronts) typically employ a torus design with a circular ring structure, rather than the cylindrical O’Neill type.

WHAT ARE LAGRANGE POINTS?
Lagrange points represent the five equilibrium solutions in the circular restricted three-body problem of celestial mechanics. In simpler terms, these are points where the gravitational forces of two large bodies and the centripetal force balance perfectly. This means that a third body (in this case, a colony or other massive constructed facility) placed at these points can maintain stable positioning. This principle holds true in the world of Ad Stella, which is why Fronts are constructed at these points. As enthusiasts may know, this same theoretical foundation explains why colonies in other Gundam series are also frequently situated at Lagrange points.

WHAT IS THE BENERIT GROUP?

A powerful conglomerate comprising 157 space development corporations. With its headquarters Front located at Lagrange 4, the group wields considerable influence throughout the L4 region. The conglomerate primarily consists of companies involved in mobile suit manufacturing and is headed by Delling Rembran as its president. Within the group, three companies known as the three branches hold particularly strong influence: Jeturk Heavy Machinery, Peil Technologies, and Grassley Defense Systems. While each maintains significant power within the Benerit Group, they differ notably in their corporate cultures and business philosophies. It’s worth noting that the Benerit Group is not the only conglomerate operating in space.

Other companies have not yet been translated.

CORPORATIONS OUTSIDE THE BENERIT GROUP

This section has not yet been translated.

NON-CORPORATE ORGANIZATIONS

VANADIS INSTITUTE
Based at the Front Folkvangr, this organization researched GUND body enhancement technology. Its official name was the Vanadis Permet Research Institute, led by Cardo Nabo. Their mission was to contribute to human space colonization by using GUND technology to compensate for human physical vulnerabilities in space’s harsh environment: zero gravity, vacuum, atmospheric composition, and cosmic radiation. They believed GUND technology could not only expand humanity’s habitable zone but also potentially bridge the divide between Earth and space. While the Vanadis Institute initiated GUND research, development costs were enormous. The mobile suit manufacturer Ochs Earth Corporation, backed by Earth capital, acquired the Institute. Facing financial difficulties, Vanadis agreed to assist in developing GUND-format mobile suits (GUND-ARM) for military applications in exchange for financial support.

SPACE ASSEMBLY LEAGUE
An autonomous administrative body evolved from the Space Frontier Community (SFC), responsible for space immigration and administration of each Lagrange area. However, as of A.S.122, powerful space industry corporations, including the Benerit Group, hold such strong influence that the League has become largely ceremonial. A faction within the League’s upper echelons, bitter about this situation, plots to diminish corporate power. While Feng Jun and Guston Parche belong to the Space Assembly League, they work as mediators between hardline leadership and corporations, striving to prevent conflicts between the two sides.

MOBILE SUIT DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL
An organization facilitating mutual support in mobile suit development. Companies must submit applications and receive approval from this council to develop and manufacture mobile suits. Naturally, mobile suits using the GUND format cannot receive approval due to its harmful effects on the human body.

DAWN OF FOLD
An anti-Spacian organization based on Earth. While they protect orphans and displaced persons, their ultimate goal is Earth’s restoration. They’re willing to use force to correct the widening Earth-space disparity. Other anti-Spacian organizations exist on Earth, cooperating and sharing weapons. The two Gundams deployed in the Plant Queta attack incident, Gundam Lfrith Ur and Gundam Lfrith Thorn, along with their pilots, were provided by external organizations, as Dawn of Fold doesn’t develop mobile suits internally.

CATHEDRA
A supervisory organization under the Mobile Suit Development Council, headed by Benerit Group’s Delling Rembran, aimed at maintaining order and ethics in MS development. While it commands the special forces unit Dominicos, as of A.S.101, this unit was originally part of the Mobile Suit Council.

GUND & GUND-ARM

GUND is a body enhancement technology utilizing an element called Permet. Originally developed to help humanity adapt to space life, it was used in mobile craft operation to counter cosmic radiation and in medical applications such as prosthetics. GUND’s information processing feedback varies based on the size and complexity of the operated object. While GUND can be safely used with prosthetic-sized applications, operating large, complex systems like mobile suits subjects the pilot to massive information feedback—known as “data storms.”

The military application of GUND technology is called the GUND Format, and mobile suits equipped with this system are collectively known as GUND-ARM. Through the GUND Format, pilots can instantly control dispersed Permet particles within a defined space. In return, pilots gain significant advantages, such as enhanced spatial awareness through GUNBIT maneuverability and Permet information feedback, giving them an edge over conventional mobile suits.

ENHANCED PERSON

Individuals selected for their high resistance to GUND Format data storms, modified through biotechnology and nanotechnology. They can tolerate and maintain high Permet scores for extended periods. However, this resistance isn’t perfect—repeated exposure to data storms eventually proves fatal. Elan Ceres, a Peil Technologies pilot, was chosen from among enhanced persons as a replacement for the original Elan Ceres and infiltrated the academy. To prevent detection, they surgically altered his face to match the original and erased his personal memories and information.

REPLI-CHILD

Artificially created humans based on specific genetic templates. Suletta Mercury is a repli-child created from Ericht Samaya’s genes, existing as a separate entity from Ericht. Additionally, the eleven individuals controlling Gundam Aerial’s GUNBITs are Ericht’s repli-chlids, known as Children of the Coven.

THE SUBSTANCE KNOWN AS PERMET

Mercury Development and Permet
When Permet, a substance capable of quantum-level information sharing, was first discovered, it immediately captured widespread attention. After reports confirmed Mercury’s rich Permet deposits, corporations rushed to develop the planet. However, as the harsh realities of adapting to Mercury’s environment became apparent, and the discovery that Permet could be safely mined on Earth’s moon, corporate activities on Mercury declined until only Shin Sei Development Corporation continued its operations there.

Mercury lacks satellites, meaning it experiences no solar eclipses. Consequently, its surface is divided into only two extreme zones: regions of intense heat under constant solar exposure, and areas of extreme cold in permanent shadow. Surface habitation on Mercury is impossible, survival requires either excavating underground living quarters or constructing facilities at Mercury’s Lagrange points relative to the Sun, where they must constantly move to maintain position. Shin Sei Corporation opted for the latter approach, establishing mobile frontier outposts.

The Discovery and Properties of Permet
Permet, discovered during solar system exploration, was initially highly unstable. However, development accelerated throughout the solar system after researchers discovered techniques to stabilize it through metallic complexation and established manufacturing methods. Permet’s defining characteristic is its ability to modify its behavior based on incident elementary particles and transmit those same particles to other Permet particles. This leads to what became known as the “Permet Spatial Behavior Phenomenon” (PSB Phenomenon), where Permet particles dispersed within a defined space move as if coordinated. While typical PSB phenomena eventually converge as noise increases over time, occasionally a rare state called a “data storm” occurs, where inter-particle information exchange continues to escalate.

During a data storm, the controlled behavior seen in PSB phenomena breaks down. Particles begin moving chaotically, generating immense heat that can severely damage Permet-controlled machinery and human bodies.

Additionally, Permet’s inherent instability allows it to undergo radioactive decay through specific methods, leading to the development of Permet power generation systems. These systems revolutionized power generation by offering high output in compact forms without requiring extensive infrastructure. By exposing Permet to specific laser emissions, controlled internal radioactive decay can be initiated, allowing energy harvesting (with Permet requiring replacement once it decays below specified thickness). To harness Permet’s spatial control properties, humanity developed a specialized programming code that Permet could directly interpret and execute. This evolved into “Permet Language Engineering,” marking the beginning of practical Permet spatial control technology.

Technological Innovation through Permet and Human Evolution
The advancement of Permet Language Engineering enabled the simultaneous integration of Permet-based communications, machinery, energy, and control systems. This breakthrough catalyzed numerous innovations in communications and engineering. While the high cost of Permet manufacturing meant that not all power and communication systems were converted (conventional technology remained in use where economically practical), most mobile suits and spacecraft transitioned to Permet-based technology.

One example of developed technology is Permet propulsion, which generates thrust through accelerated Permet ejection. Using “Permet Code” developed through Permet Language Engineering, pre-programmed inter-Permet relationships enabled the propellant itself to perform thrust vectoring. This “Permet-Intelligence Propellant” dramatically simplified (miniaturized and lightened) complex control systems. However, the information required for Permet spatial control technology is extremely vast, pushing even the latest quantum computers to their limits. While improvements continue through AI-based code transmission systems (still used by mobile suits other than the Gundam), these are expected to eventually reach the “Permet Limit.”

Nevertheless, “Permet Link” technology, which connects various systems through Permet introduced into the human body, significantly advanced humanity’s space exploration capabilities. Additionally, “GUND” technology, a medical field advancement of this technology, held the potential to revolutionize human physical and mental capabilities. However, its military application, “GUND Format,” deviated dramatically from these ideals and principles, drawing severe ethical criticism and becoming widely regarded as a “forbidden technology.”

MOBILE SUITS AND MOBILE CRAFT IN AD STELLA

In the world of Ad Stella, mobile suits and mobile craft are commonplace technologies, not extraordinary equipment. Mobile suits evolved through engineering technologies developed from mobile craft operations and space development projects. While Gundams have some unique control systems, their basic mechanisms don’t differ significantly from mass-produced mobile suits.

MOBILE SUIT DRIVE SYSTEMS
The basic structure consists of links (equivalent to a skeleton) and joints, powered by high-performance electric motors. Various motor types are used, including spherical motors. Some specialized mobile suits employ biomimetic technology, such as chemical energy-powered polymer artificial muscles, though these are quite rare. Hydraulic drives are occasionally used as failsafes in some mobile suits, but this isn’t common.

POWER SOURCES
Mobile suits use battery power for safety reasons, with Permet technology enabling more powerful battery units. When power depletes, units either undergo battery pack replacement or recharge via cable or wireless systems. Charging facilities for mobile suits and mobile craft are ubiquitous infrastructure elements.

PROPULSION SYSTEMS
Mobile suit movement requires propellant, utilizing Permet-based metallic propulsion bodies (which generate high heat internally, converting to plasma propellant, requiring minimal tank storage). This system is integrated into mobile suit propulsion and attitude control, with the metallic body becoming plasma propellant accelerated by electrical forces for exhaust. Longer distances require more propulsion metal bodies. Mobile suit explosions often result from uncontrolled plasma conversion (though normally safely regulated). This propulsion system allows for extended jumps rather than sustained flight in 1G environments.

GUNBIT
Permet metallization technology enables incorporating device functions into metals themselves (though extremely expensive and rare), allowing armor to double as communication devices. This led to Permet neuroscience developments, including Permet tissue technology that replaces skeletal and body tissue with Permet-designed metals. By linking personal biological information (IndiBio) with Permet-intelligent structures in mobile suit armor and bits, pilots can control gunbits as if they were body extensions. Aerial’s GUNBITs incorporate multi-pilot control systems beyond this technology. Single-pilot control of multiple gunbits generates massive data loads, risking data storms. While solutions like mirroring individual biological information across gunbits were explored, Aerial achieves superior data storm resistance by assigning eleven Children of the Coven, who share nearly identical IndiBio with Suletta, to individual GUNBITs.

MOBILE SUIT COCKPIT AND CONTROL SYSTEMS
Standard cockpits use body-fixing attachments rather than seatbelts, with back and waist sections providing shock absorption. Most mobile suits feature standardized semi-panoramic monitors, with Gundam types having larger display areas. Student handbook devices serve as activation keys for school mobile suits. Mobile suit operation combines AI autonomous movement with pilot intent transmission through Permet control. The pilot’s suit attachments and helmet function as control devices.

WHAT ARE MOBILE CRAFT?
Mobile Craft are industrial machines used for construction, cargo transport, and various heavy work. Non-humanoid types predominate, with some unmanned versions using Haro control device units. Movement systems vary from walking to wheeled types. While combat versions exist, they’re less powerful than mobile suits.

QUIET ZERO

A fortress-scale mega-structure designed to realize Delling and Prospera’s grand design. When integrated with Gundam Aerial’s GUND Format, it enables the construction of a solar system-wide GUND Format network of unprecedented scale. This network holds the potential to become humanity’s most extensive information circulation system, built upon a foundation of what’s known as a data storm (characterized by extreme Permet influx and extraordinarily high Permet scores). By generating a vast data storm field, it can neutralize any infrastructure or equipment utilizing Permet links within its sphere of influence.

PROSPERA & QUIET ZERO
While Delling intended to use Quiet Zero’s GUND Format network to seize control of the Earth Sphere’s political, military, and economic systemsm driven by a self-righteous pessimism that “only he could save humanity’s future,” his actions stopped short of directly destroying human society, motivated by his desire to realize his late wife Notrette’s ideals. Prospera, however, sought to exploit Delling’s plan for her own ends. Her objective: to release Ericht into a network of Earth Sphere-wide data storms by allowing her to access Aerial’s GUND Format once it achieved Permet Score Eight. The current GUND Format exists in a realm beyond human comprehension due to its astronomical information density, making direct access impossible. Accessing the GUND Format requires Suletta, acting as interface through Aerial, to maintain stable Permet Score Eight and establish connectivity with Ericht.

This necessitated gradually building Suletta’s tolerance through intermittent exposure to high Permet scores, establishing incremental stable connections with Ericht. To facilitate this, they constructed a protective network distributing data storm load across gunbits, each assigned to one of eleven repli-chlids’ individual biological signatures. However, actual combat risked Aerial’s complete destruction and Suletta’s death. Thus, they arranged her enrollment at Asticassia School, using its controlled environment to safely nurture Aerial’s awakening through simulated combat in duels.

QUIET ZERO & THE GUNDAMS’ DISSOLUTION
After deploying an immense data storm field that disabled the ILTS functionality, Calibarn, the three Gundams, and Quiet Zero itself dissolved into luminous particles. While Quiet Zero (and each Gundam) utilized massive amounts of Permet, Suletta and Ericht’s shared desire to break free from Quiet Zero manifested as linguistic code within the Permet, triggering an unprecedented data storm among surrounding Permet particles. This exponential data explosion, never before witnessed by humanity, overwhelmed even the GUND Format’s network-based tolerance thresholds. Unable to process this surge, the system released excess data as heat. The resulting information entropy generated enough thermal energy to reduce Quiet Zero and the Gundams’ component materials to particles, leading to their dissolution.

ERICHT’S TRANSFER TO HOT
When Gundam Aerial (Modified) vanished alongside the Gundam Calibarn, Ericht appeared to have disappeared with it. However, the surrounding Permet particles, through repeated aggregation and condensation, successfully preserved her individual biological information within crystallized Permet. This essence found its way into “Hot” the keychain Suletta carried. The decomposition of Quiet Zero’s massive bulk into particle form created a region of extraordinarily high Permet concentration in the surrounding space. Normally, Permet is inherently unstable and readily breaks down without systems to maintain it. However, within this newly formed “Permet Sea,” Suletta accomplished something remarkable: she successfully stabilized the volatile Permet into crystal form, enabling Ericht’s consciousness to transfer into Hot. In other words, without Quiet Zero’s dissolution, preserving Ericht’s existence would have been impossible.

ASTICASSIA SCHOOL OF TECHNOLOGY

This section has not yet been translated.