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The threads about Imperial population got me thinking about what the Imperium counts as a world.

So we all know that 'One Million Worlds' like 40 days and 40 nights is more poetic licence than a hard and fast number. And most fans would agree that 'one million worlds' would not include an airless moon with a missile base or an asteroid with a mine on it.

Worlds have Imperial governors who have complete power as long as they meet certain obligations - cull mutants and psykers, pay tithes/taxes, defend the world, obey other Imperial laws and requests as needed. And certainly their domains may include some other planets/moons/asteroids/stations. Maybe even other star systems if there's important resources and no viable world to support its own governor.

So I'd propose there's a criteria to the effect of:
Significant population
Self sustaining (more or less)
Economically viable
Imperial recognition as a independent sovereign world (probably the most important criteria)

Not all worlds are necessarily habitable, an Imperial world where everyone is underground or in domes is certainly possible, if it has sufficient importance and population.

There should be only one Governor per world (though multiple claimants and civil wars are always possible), recognized by Holy Terra. There may be more than one per star system (if there are multiple inhabited worlds), and maybe there are sufficiently large and important space stations and asteroids recognized as 'worlds'. There may be all sorts of outliers too - A research outpost whose head somehow convinced the Imperium to recognize him as governor of 3 domes and 100 personnel, a clerical error recognizes Ceti Alpha 9's mine foreman as a governor instead of the Supreme Arch Baron of the Hive World Ceti 9 Alpha, stuff like that.

This becomes a bit of circular definition, if a planet has a recognized governor it's a world, if it doesn't it's not.

I like to think that lost worlds are also counted. Once the Imperium has recognized a planet as their, it's there's forever. An ork invasion/Tyranid harvest/daemon outbreak or exterminus doesn't negate the Emperor's divine right to that world.

Also I think the Imperium has a religious mandate to spread humanity to as many worlds as possible, reclaiming lost human worlds, terraforming potential worlds, or scratching an existence out of some marginal world. Until a world is recognized it would be an outpost, answering to the Imperial Governor or other government arm that settled it.

So the million number might be far too low (if you count outposts, colonies, settlements) and too high (since every Tyranid eaten world is still counted).

Sound about right?

I'd say that makes sense - any system will have no shortage of orbital bodies manned by a few hundred miners or six PDF grunts with an orbital auspex station, but that's not the same as a 'world of the imperium'.

Nor is the imperium really aware of (as yet) unrecognised colonies created by rogue traders or settled in passing by demobbed guard from crusades.

The 'one million worlds' meaning 'one million worlds deemed significant enough to appoint an Imperial Commander' sounds much more sensible.

There are probably lots of planets which aren't suitable for life (e.g. due to proximity to the system's sun) but still lie within Imperial territory. I'd imagine the Imperium still counts them as theirs although they don't really benefit much from them.

Another question would be how are Governors/Imperial Commander chosen? Generally planets govern their own affairs (within limits) and the Imperium has no opinion on whether they're picked by lineage/election/gladiatorial games/drawing lots.

And presumably every system has some sort of dispute system to resolve what do to when someone questions the legitimacy of an heir/demands a recount/accuses the winner of using banned war drugs/says the lots were rigged.

But still the Imperium is going to have opinions to prevent incompetents or people with suspect loyalties from coming to power (outright heretics and rebels are obviously right out). Also the Imperium will want to step in to avoid outright civil war when the dispute mechanism fails.

Presumably the Imperial authorities will from time to time put a word in someone's ear "Prince Bartholomew, you really shouldn't pursue the top seat' maybe even sweeten the deal "Y'know the Emperor's Shrine and Winery on the tropical island of Elysium could use a new overseer".

Then there's the Arbites, Assassins, Inquisition and if all else fails the Marines and Guard if people can't take a hint.

A big ol' ball of rok with an atmosphere

"1 Million Worlds" is the same as saying "A chapter has 1000 marines". It's total nonsense but makes a cool tagline.

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:

Also the Imperium will want to step in to avoid outright civil war when the dispute mechanism fails.
.

That's not always true, at least from the rpg books: there is even an example in which the Imperium enjoys this situation because each side product more than before (so the overall production for the Imperium went up) in order to get the Imperium's attention and sympathy !
Roughly said, if it doesn't bother the Imperium production (of goods, men, etc.) and doesn't weaken the whole sector, it doesn't care.

So I think has come up before but it's worth noting. NASA estimates 200 BILLION solar systems in the Milky Way.

We have no way to even guess what percentage have Earth-like worlds or support life (my rough estimate is 1 out of 200 billion) but for a space opera type universe, especially where various races have been seeding and terraforming for millions of years it's enough to say... a lot.

And the Imperium claims roughly 1 out of 200,000 solar systems.

Now that's still a lot in 40k terms, canonically the largest empire in the Milky Way. None of the minor Xenos can manage the long warp jumps or telepathic communication the Imperium can with Navigators and Astropaths. The Eldar could before the fall, the Nids are of one mind, the Necrons have galatic-level teleportation and communication, no one else comes close.

But that's a lot of unseen, unsettled, unexplored space between Imperial worlds.

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:
So I think has come up before but it's worth noting. NASA estimates 200 BILLION solar systems in the Milky Way.

We have no way to even guess what percentage have Earth-like worlds or support life (my rough estimate is 1 out of 200 billion) but for a space opera type universe, especially where various races have been seeding and terraforming for millions of years it's enough to say... a lot.

And the Imperium claims roughly 1 out of 200,000 solar systems.

Now that's still a lot in 40k terms, canonically the largest empire in the Milky Way. None of the minor Xenos can manage the long warp jumps or telepathic communication the Imperium can with Navigators and Astropaths. The Eldar could before the fall, the Nids are of one mind, the Necrons have galatic-level teleportation and communication, no one else comes close.

But that's a lot of unseen, unsettled, unexplored space between Imperial worlds.

Well many of these solar systems might be without planets. And everything else is 80% Orks. 15% Necrons and 5% the others (just making these numbers up from the 40K galactic maps) . Since the Cicatrix the percentages might have changed to 60% Orks, 15% Necrons and 20% Chaos/ uninhabited, but it could be totally different, as the claiming of 3 solar systems by Nurgle/Mortarion seems to be a very important event in 8th edition lore. 3 solar systems, wow.

Get of my planet.
Shakes fist at sky

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:
So I think has come up before but it's worth noting. NASA estimates 200 BILLION solar systems in the Milky Way.

We have no way to even guess what percentage have Earth-like worlds or support life (my rough estimate is 1 out of 200 billion) but for a space opera type universe, especially where various races have been seeding and terraforming for millions of years it's enough to say... a lot.

And the Imperium claims roughly 1 out of 200,000 solar systems.

Now that's still a lot in 40k terms, canonically the largest empire in the Milky Way. None of the minor Xenos can manage the long warp jumps or telepathic communication the Imperium can with Navigators and Astropaths. The Eldar could before the fall, the Nids are of one mind, the Necrons have galatic-level teleportation and communication, no one else comes close.

But that's a lot of unseen, unsettled, unexplored space between Imperial worlds.

Keep in mind that the 40k verse has been showcase to the galaxy tearing War in Heaven, Age of Strife, The Fall plus whatever else may have happened before the time of the Imperium followed directly by 10,000 years of Only War. 1 Million worlds might be all that's left at this point.