The adventure takes place on the planet Rudyard. This planet is based on an alternate future Earth, as described in two stories by Rudyard Kipling, and fully detailed in the FF1 files.
Here is the annotated UWP for T4 along with a very brief introduction to the present situation.
Rudyard should be placed just outside the current border of Imperium (this will vary depending which milieu you prefer).

Rudyard: X787886-7 Red Zone

Size & Atmosphere: In order to justify the enormous success of dirigibles on the planet, I modified the planetary data giving it a lower gravity and an higher atmosphere density. This means that much of the stuff regarding Fleury gas and other alternate physics ideas should be dropped.

Population: Until a couple centuries ago the planet had more than a billion denizens, but wars, epidemics and famines reduced it to the present population level. Their number is growing again, but very slowly, and this is one of the primary concerns of the ABC.

Law Level: Pretty high, but not really enforced by the police force. Rudyard is quite pacific, and murder and other violent crimes are almost unheard of. The primary social concern is respect for people privacy and minding your own business.
Given that, LL should not be used as a chance of encountering police.

Government: This is actually an obscene word to Rudyarites, along with "Elections", "Democracy" and so on. "Imperium" is even worse, but the ABC (which fits the Civil Service Bureaucracy model pretty well) has some points in common with the Imperium, especially the "Transportation is Civilization" bit and an interest for commercial freedom.
At the start of the adventure, Imperial diplomats are trying to arrange a deal with the ABC.
Rudyard was originally a Balkanized world, but all governments collapsed and disappeared after the wars, to be replaced by a "coherent anarchy" under ABC control.
Rudyarites share a common religion, based on reincarnation, and usually talk one of their regional languages plus a slightly corrupted version of Galanglic, which they call "International", used mostly as business Lingua Franca, just like current usage of English on our planet.

Tech Level Rudyard lost at least 2 TLs during its darkest years. Assume the indicated Tech Level with the following exceptions.

Travel

"Digs Rule". Dirigibles have gained an enormous success and have become the major mean of travel.
Over transoceanic distances, when speed is not really an issue, goods travel on submersible freighters. A crude version of Sonar exists, but Radar technology was lost after the wars, and Rudyarites in general are quite content with their light beacons system, probably for psychological reasons: powerful light emitting structures in the night reinforce the idea of civilization and peace all around you.

Communications

Television does not exist, except for experimental (and not very successful) models originally aimed at videoconferencing. Radio is quite popular.

Computer & Electronics

Electromechanical devices are common and relatively sophisticated, both for automating navigation and for boosting industrial and agricultural production: the population just can't provide the required workforce, at present.
Given the taboo against "government" interference and the strong individualistic tendencies, Data Management (as we know it) does not exist. Large files are uncommon, and are maintained manually, if at all. Consequently general purpose computers don't exist, while specialized calculating or pseudo-robotic devices are relatively common.

Weapons

The only weapons commonly available are hunting or sporting types. Some war relic can be found, but ammo and replacement parts are practically impossible to obtain.
The ABC maintains an armed branch, but they favor riot-control, non-lethal weapons like tasers, sonic stunners and adhesive foams.

Medicine

Relatively advanced. Consider it a TL higher than the one indicated for the Planet.

Condensed Timeline:

- 37 years

Compass Rose built.

- 30 years

Last war on Rudyard ends

- 17 years

A.B.C. activates a new Cloud-Breaker at Koveny.

- 3 years

Consolidated Dirigibles loses his AAA status.

- 3 months

The PCs pass the tests and are selected to join the Rudyard expedition.

- 5 Weeks

The expedition arrives on Rudyard.

0

Now. The adventure starts.