From the Encyclopedia of the Known Galaxy, 3000 CE Edition UNITED PLANETS: Planetary confederation, encompassing over one hundred solar systems, that has the dubious honor of being one of the first planetary confederations dominated by Earth-descended humanity to emerge from the chaos of the disintegration of the United Gallactica, in the twenty-third century CE. [...] One United Planets "year" is roughly five per cent shorter than a Solar Year [...] Despite being supported as a buffer state [against the developing Ralgon Empire, q.v.] by the revived Jurain Empire in its early days, most citizens of the United Planets are reluctant to own up to their part-Jurain ancestry. In fact, most are unaware that their calendar, the Unity Central, based on the rotational period of Unity, the central planet of the United Planets, has as its starting date the colonization of Unity by a group of Jurain dissidents (c. 3800 BCE). These dissidents, led by the `Grim Prince' Daspiter, had formed a philosophy that held that the use of Jurain paraphysical powers was damaging to the spirit. As this philosophy was in direct opposition to the Jurain political system of rule by the para- physical elite, it was understandably unpopular with the Jurain rulers. While Daspiter had renounced his own formidable paraphysical arsenal, the Emperor of the time, Deiis II, elected to send him into exile rather than have him executed. Daspiter's followers, numbering some ten thousand Jurains (roughly 60% male) went with him into exile on the planet which the Jurain stellar cartographers eventually named Unity. (What name the Daspites gave it has never been revealed.) They were determined to forge a life without paraphysical powers, [but] within two Jurain generations [500 Solar years], Daspiter's eldest son and heir humbly petitioned for a re- sumption of Jurain rule. While maintaining that the powers were harmful, the Daspite clergy was forced to admit that they were sadly ill-suited to make Unity habitable without them. Deiss II, inclined to be merciful as he approached his twilight, gave the Daspites a degree of self-rule unseen elsewhere in the Empire, on condition that they not seek to spread their religion beyond their own planet. An agreement was reached, an Imperial governor and garrison were installed, and work began on the project of terraforming Unity. Even after this centuries-long task was completed, the Daspites held true to their oath to the Emperor. They maintained their beliefs, and kept the calendar that Daspiter had devised, but never attempted to seize independence. They therefore had very little impact on the history of the Empire over the next five thousand years. In 2080 CE, however, Emperor Azusa faced a problem of refugees from Earth. Roughly a quarter of those who had fled the Nanoclysm had arrived in the domains of the Jurain Empire. Azusa, advised by his heir Tenchi, correctly judged that most -- if not all -- of the refugee Terrans would be ill-prepared to deal with the regular use of paraphysical powers that the average Jurain citizen accepted; an epidemic of culture shock could ensue if the refugees were allowed to settle on practically any Jurain world. This led to a discussion of the Daspite faith, and it was quickly suggested that Unity would be the perfect interim home for the refugees. Azusa sent an official communique to the current Prelate of the Children of Daspiter, who, in an act of great charity, both consented to accept the refugees, and publicly urged his congregation to do the same. [Later events caused the name of this generous Prelate to be stricken from the record.] The ex- patriate Terrans quickly took to life on Unity, and it is held that the Unitians (as they later came to be called) adapted to Galactic life much sooner than their brethren elsewhere did. The Daspite faith, which was not fundamentally different from Terran religions, won many converts from among the refugees, although the beginnings of discord between the Jurain and the Terran interpretations of the Word of Daspiter could be faintly heard, as the Terrans incorporated elements of their homeworld's religions into the faith. Also, many of the refugees were not exactly happy at the thought of being ruled by a distant, semi-divine Emperor whom their newfound religion suggested would be tormented for millenia in the next dimension. As the Terrans began to have more and more influence in the political and cultural life of Unity, it came as no great surprise when, in 2100 CE, they petitioned for Unity's membership in the newly-minted United Gallactica before the ink on Azusa's decree disbanding the Jurain Empire was dry. The slightly isolationist tendencies of the Daspite faith still influenced the world, however, and Unity was generally a marginal presence in U.G. political affairs. That changed in 2190 CE, two years after the disintegration of the United Gallactica. The period of the Interstellar Civil War coincided with the height of the career of the first great evangelical preacher of the Daspite faith, Lazarus James (2147-2206), who in a series of firey orations, urged the government of Unity to abandon their defensive pose, and act to force a peacable solution on all nearby warring parties. While James' influence on the government was minimal during his lifetime, his career is undoubtably one of the major factors in the formation of the United Planets. It cannot be denied that many of the ships of Unity's defensive fleet began to behave in a much more belligerent fashion in their interceptions after James began preaching. By 2208, when the second President of Unity, Enelsen Vanadis (2168- 2262) was sworn in, it was clear that James had been a major influence on him. Virtually all the neighboring star systems had suffered complete economic or political collapse, while Unity was still steady, and President Vanadis dispatched a number of fleets to give emergency aid, to determine if any of the systems posed any threat to Unity, and -- in the sad event that such was the case -- to deal with them. Of the fifteen star systems visited by the Unitian fleets, over a third proved to be "dangerous" enough to require intervention. The others were either composed of bombed out shells of worlds, or proved to be non-belligerent enough to welcome any "guidance" offered by the Unitians. In 2210, President Vanadis soberly announced that all fifteen of the star systems that the UEF had visited had agreed to unite under the Unitian banner, as the United Planets. Later that year, the newly formed confederation was contacted by the reformed Jurain Empire. Vanadis politely refused to rejoin the Empire, but stated that he hoped for peaceful dealings with Jurai. Emperor Tenchi, showing the keen grasp of politics that had won him his throne, accurately saw that the United Planets had been expanding in the direction of the Ralgon territories, and that if this trend continued, they might well prove to be a useful shield when the Ralgons sought to avenge themselves on the Jurains. [Tenchi, who had studied the Ralgons, knew full well that they had preserved extremely accurate legends about their Urusian ancestors, whose attempt to form an empire had been crushed by the first Jurain empire, c. 300 CE] Thus, he encouragd trade and diplomacy with the developing United Planets, thereby indirectly fostering the growth of other post-Gallactica confederations, some of which were organized solely to meet the potential threat of the UP and the Jurains[...] TAILOR, JUSTY UEKI: *Apparently* a native of Unity, central planet of the United Planets confederation (q.v), b. 2840 CE/6974 UC, but all data about his birth and formative years seems to have vanished sometime shortly after his famous defection -- along with that of the entire crew of the Soyokaze -- from the ranks of the United Planets Space Force in 2870 CE. [...] He is alleged to have once stated that his father was from Terra, but there is no proof that this statement was ever made, or that it is true. Tailor's autobiography does not shed any light on his origins, instead beginning with an account of how he joined the UPSF, crediting both this "accomplishment" and thus all his victories to a certain Chief Petty Officer in the Recruiting staff. [Immediately after the publication of Tailor's autobiography, this CPO is said to have changed his name, and had cosmetic surgery to avoid being identified as the individual responsible for Tailor's association with the UPSF. This is surely an apocryphal tale, however, as it is well known that Tailor's autobiography was immediately banned throughout the United Planets.] Notes: 1. In the eyecatch for the original series, Justy's name is clearly spelled out "Tailor". It's to be remembered that "AI" in Japanese is pronounced like a long "I" in English. (The romanization of Justy's name's katakana is "Taira".) It's most probable that the animation staff wasn't aware that "AI" is a long "A" in English, when they created the eyecatch. As for myself, I'm putting it to a difference in pronounciation after nearly a thousand years. Also, the lingua franca of the United Gallactica and later civilizations of the Galaxy *was* a mixture of Japanese and English -- Anggo, as it was termed. 2. I have *no* idea what happens in the later Tyler OAVs (seen the first two only) so I can't really say if they're canonical for the Together Again universe or not. For the moment, let's say they're not. After the events of the series, Justy and co. serve in the UPSF for about ten years, in their own inimitable fashion, before the UP decides to do something really stupid and invades the Sol system ... which is where the story of who this fellow *really* is begins ... 3. No, he's not related to either Tenchi *or* Mihoshi.