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I think the rise of superstition and "magic," followed by the dominance of an organized religion, and then the fall of that religion, shows a pretty sharp insight inot humanity's past and nature. It seems that your ideas have grown organically, and I can only compare them as such to some part of Frank Herbert's views of humanity's nature - as well as the ability of a ruling class/species to manipulate that nature.

Bravo, again, for not being afraid to paint the bad or weak side of humanity along with the strong.

Thank you kindly.

One of the things I wanted to avoid in this universe is any notion that there are "goodies" and "baddies". Most cultures operate in their own self interest most of the time - not to say that nobody ever helps one another, but that help is usually tied to long term interests such as achieving political stability, keeping trade routes open, building a reputation for yourself, achieving good publicity, or whatever.

As an example, one of the main hero characters in the book I mess with now and again used to be a weapons officer on a ship during a war. He personally fired a planetbusting weapon which killed billions of people, including many innocent civilians, children, etc - and he did it because he's a professional military man, he regards killing people as part of his job, and he was ordered to. He's not good, he's not evil, he's just doing what he signed up to do.

So what happened to Earth? You said it was relegated to legendary status during the occupation; after the liberation, was it part of the new Empire? Still lost, waiting in the wings to burst onto the scene with new and advanced technology borne of centuries of isolation? Turned into an uninhabitable wasteland by global warming, perhaps? ;P

.......blown up?.......

If you don't mind a simple idea, here's how I would go with Earth - how about if it continued to exist, capable of supporting life somewhat normally, but its culture stagnated after being cut off from the bulk of humanity. Perhaps it could be rediscovered, but the shock of seeing the advanced tech and different culture of star-faring humanity, plus an allied alien race or two, leads to a very different homecoming than expected...

It was treated much as any other planet. After the liberation it became a major religious center for the scattered Humanity; half of them had spent their lives being told that it was their destiny to go there after they were free... and suddenly they were free and had the means... and the major religion in place was theologically committed to encouraging them.

Cue the greatest bout of immigration in history.

Most of Earth's population lives on an "orbital grid"; a series of towers stretching up to twice geostationary orbit, with orbital rings connecting them together. The living area you can create with something like that is truly massive - bigger than the planet itself by orders of magnitude.

By 3000 Earth's population is measured in the trillions. It's a gigantic mishmash of cultures which have blended and mixed over time. Since it was the home of the religion created by the Turgrans, and since those who did go there tended to be the most devout, it's also one of the few places in Human space where religion still has a significant home.

Some specs for the Swiftsure...

Length (over hull) /b] 968.75 m (3,178 feet 3.3 inches)
Length (including sailship) /b] 987.33 m (3,239 feet 2.9 inches)
Height /b] 273.33 m (896 feet 9 inches)
Beam /b] 81 m (265 feet 8.9 inches)
Mass /b] 3,200,000 metric tons
Decks /b] 11 habitable decks
Crew /b] 450 - 650
Speed /b] 4,600 x c theoretical maximum; 3,600 x c structural limit; 2,400 x c average cruise speed factoring in periodic stops for navigational updates.
Endurance /b] 30 days at maximum cruise speed; 197 light years.
Armament /b] None
[b]Armour /b] None
[b]Defensive Systems /b] None