Florina is a planet in Isaac Asimov's Empire series.
About Florina[]
Florina was a planet located in the same stellar system as its ruling world, Sark. It is a subordinate agricultural world, famous throughout the galaxy as the sole source of the invaluable kyrt fiber, whose control was the source of Sark's wealth and the cause of its conflict with the Kingdom of Trantor.
Its population, which numbered in the millions, held a deep pride for their home, often considering it the most beautiful world in the galaxy. However, for five centuries, Florina was not an independent entity but was ruthlessly governed by the Great Squires of Sark, who established a rigid and oppressive caste system that kept the native Florinians in a state of servitude.
The sole reason for Sark's interest and control was Florina's unique export: kyrt. This remarkable natural fiber, which could only be cultivated on Florina, possessed extraordinary properties of strength, lightness, and versatility, making it the most valuable raw material in the galaxy. The Sarkite aristocracy maintained and defended their complete monopoly over kyrt with extreme jealousy, as it was the foundation of their entire economy and political power, enabling them to rival Trantor itself.
This monopoly inevitably led to a political confrontation with the expanding Kingdom of Trantor, an event that would become known as the Florina Incident. The crisis was precipitated by the discovery of a Spatio-analyst from Earth, initially known as Rik, who determined that Florina's sun was unstable and on the verge of going nova, which would annihilate the entire system.
The revelation of this impending catastrophe forced the hands of both Sark and Trantor. The ensuing political maneuverings, aimed at controlling the response and the future of the kyrt trade, culminated in the successful evacuation of the entire Florinian population. This event, the Nova crisis , combined with the nearly simultaneous development of a technique for creating synthetic kyrt by Trantorian scientists, broke Sark's power forever. The evacuated Florinians were resettled as a free people on a new world within the Trantorian sphere, ending their long subjugation.
Appearances[]